BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

<> 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


,O     CENTS. 


CONTENTS. 


NEW  YORK  - 

Catskills 

Ausable  Chasm 

Shakers 

MONTREAL 

TORONTO 

NIAGARA  FALLS 

Fraser  Canyon 

Rockies 

TACOMA 


YELLOWSTONE  PARK  | 

iormons 

Colorado  Springs 
ROYAL  GORGE 
ST.  LOUIS 
CHICAGO 
SARATOGA 
BOSTON 
PHILADELPHIA 
WASHINGTON 


NV3DO    OI1NV11V 


PACIFIC   OCE^N 


GLIMPSES 

// 


OF  OUR 


AMERICAN 


KITH  AND  KIN. 


BY 


AN    ENGLISHMAN. 


NEW  YORK : 
EATON  &  MAINS,  (Methodist  Book  Concern)  150,  Fifth  Avenue. 

LONDON : 
C.  H.  KELLY,  66,  Paternoster  Row,  E.G. 


E-  I 


BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

PREFACE. 


In  this  little  work  I  have  avoided  all  controversial  topics, 
such  as  politics,  the  temperance  question,  &c.  What  I  have 
attempted  to  relate  is  of  things  only  on  the  surface,  and  at  best 
the  "  g limpse s  "  are  but  rapid,  hasty  "  snapshots  "  ;  nevertheless 
the  impressions  fell  on  a  receptive  plate,  and  such  as  they  are, 
are  here  printed  off. 

Let  me  explain  why  they  are  "printed  off."  Having 
expressed  to  some  scores  of  friends,  both  Trans-Atlantic  and  Cis- 
Atlantic,  the  pleasing  impressions  I  had  received  while  visiting 
the  States,  I  was  met  everywhere  by  the  remark,  "  Why  do  you 
not  publish  them  ?  I  am  sure  it  would  do  much  good."  As  I 
could  not  however  think  that  anything  I  might  write  would  have 
any  influence,  I  put  that  thought  to  one  side  ;  but  my  heart  being 
full  of  America  and  our  American  "  Kith  and  Kin,"  (I  speak  of 
all  classes)  and  of  their  kindness  and  courtesy,  and  of  all  else  that 
enlists  sympathy  and  regard,  it  became  a  matter  of  compulsion 
and  of  relief  to  write  these  pages,  which  I  commend  to  the  kind 
indulgence  of  my  readers.  If  one  is  grateful  one  ought  to  say  so. 
I  trust  that  many  of  my  friends,  who  may  see  this,  will  take  it  as 
an  expression  of  my  gratitude  to  them,  for  the  great  consideration 
we  received  at  their  hands  during  our  enjoyable  visit. 

For  a  time — as  I  write  this— a  cloud  has  seemed  to  darken 
the  sky,  and  sad  thoughts  have  passed  through  my  heart,  which 
have  filled  it  with  deep  grief :  but  let  us  fervently  hope  and 
devoutly  trust — 

"That  the  falling  out  of  friends 
Is  the  renewing  but  of  love." 

and  that  peace  and  amity,  good  fellowship  and  charity,  in  their 
widest  and  fullest  sense,  may  ever  exist  between  us  and  our 
"American  Kith  and  Kin." 

THE  AUTHOR. 

LONDON, 

1896. 


GLIMPSES 

OF    OUR    AMERICAN 
KITH  AND  KIN. 


DESIRE   TO    VISIT  AMERICA. 

some  years  we  had  cherished  the  hope  of  seeing  the 
Americans  in  their  own  country.  It  had  been  our 
privilege  to  meet,  from  time  to  time,  many  Americans  whilst 
travelling  in  Europe,  and  it  was  always  pleasureable  and  profit- 
able, to  make  their  acquaintance.  In  some  instances  we  have 
made,  we  trust,  life  long  friendships.  Many  and  cordial  have 
been  the  invitations  for  us  to  cross  the  broad  Atlantic  to 
come  over  and  visit  them.  The  year  of  the  World's  Fair  at 
Chicago  brought  us  renewed  offers  of  hospitality,  but  we  were 
not  able  at  that  time  to  avail  ourselves  of  them.  At  last  the 
strong,  the  increasing  desire,  to  see  the  Americans,  their  Cities, 
their  Farms,  their  Railroads,  their  Steamers,  and  their  Public 
Buildings,  as  well  as  to  study  their  manners,  their  character, 
their  customs,  and  their  habits  on  their  native  soil,  became  so 
strong  in  us,  that  the  Atlantic  seemed  a  placid  lake  and 
its  billows  all  smooth,  and  the  resolution  was  formed  to  carry 
out  our  long  contemplated  visit.  It  was  the  Americans  that 


we  desired  to  see  rather  than  America ;  not  that  Niagara,  the 
Yellowstone  Park,  and  the  Yosemite  Valley  had  no  attractions 
for  us,  but  our  first  thoughts  and  desires  were  towards  its 
people.  We  looked  upon  the  States  as  a  great  problem — a 
great  social  and  political  problem. 

PRELIMINARIES. — Having  then  resolved  to  cross  the  Atlantic, 
our  next  step  was  to  decide  at  which  port  we  should  land,  so 
many  routes  are  open.    At  first  we  thought  of  going  to  Quebec 
by  the  Anchor  Line,  so  as  to  avoid  the  almost  tropical  heat  of 
New  York  in  July.     After  much   thought  and  deliberation  we 
decided  to  go  by  the  Cunard  Line  direct  to  New  York,  as  it 
was  the  shortest  route,  and  had  the  finest  and  swiftest  steamers. 
As  the  time  to  make  our  arrangements  was  very  short,  we 
telegraphed  at  once  to  Messrs.  Thos.  Cook  &  Son,  the  world- 
known  Tourists'  Agents,  to  secure  berths  for  two  on  board  the 
Royal    Mail   Steamship  "  Campania"   leaving    Liverpool    on 
Saturday,  the  i$th  of  July.    This  they  did  at  once,  securing  us 
as  we  desired  a  "  state  room  "  in  the  most  favourable  part  of  the 
ship,  the  full  benefits  of  which  we  afterwards  fully  appreciated. 
EMBARKATION. — We   embarked  at  Liverpool  on   the  day 
fixed  ;  but  although  we  started  in  more  than  ample  time  from  our 
hotel  to  go  leisurely  on  board,  we  nearly  lost  our  boat,  for  as  it 
was  only  the  second  time  that  the  Campania  had  come  to  the 
landing  stage  to  take  her  cabin  passengers  on  board,  an  immense 
concourse  of  some  thousands  of  people    had  gathered  on  and 
about  the  pontoon,  and  we  with  our  luggage  became  wedged  in 
the  crowd.   With  considerable  difficulty  we  managed  to  extricate 
ourselves  from  it,    and   by    making  a  lengthy   detour  arrived 
at  the  ship's  side  a  few  minutes  before  the  time  fixed  for  her 
departure. 


THE  "CAMPANIA.'' — I  do  not  wonder  at  the  immense  gather- 
ing to  see  this  magnificent  vessel.  We  had  not  seen  her  before, 
and  as  our  eye  swept  over  her  majestic  lines  from  stem  to  stern, 
our  heart  took  courage,  and  we  felt  braced  up  to  encounter  the 
waves  of  the  mighty  Atlantic.  Her  length  is  over  600  feet,  her 
tonnage  is  just  upon  13,000  tons,  and  her  power  equals  that  of 
30,000  horses.  Many  a  time  afterwards  as  we  saw  her  heading 
into  a  great  Atlantic  wave  during  our  first  day  at  sea,  we  thought, 
"  ah  !  well,  she  has  30,000  horses  to  pull  us  through,"  and  right 
bravely  she  did  her  work.  They  call  these  fleet  steamers  the 
"greyhounds  "  of  the  Atlantic,  but  we  should  prefer  to  call  them 
"  Atlantic  leviathans,"  as  more  in  keeping  with  their  size  and* 
solidity.  We  were  told  that  she  consumed  1000  tons  of  coal  a 
day,  and  that  as  the  coal  was  used  and  the  ship  lightened, 
water  ballast  was  let  into  tanks  to  keep  her  at  an  even  line. 
Her  crew  numbered  400,  and  her  passengers  on  our  voyage 
800  more,  and  yet  so  large  was  the  ship  that,  except  at  meals, 
one  never  saw  more  than  40  or  50  people  at  any  one  time. 
Where  the  400  crew  got  to  was  a  deep  mystery  to  us,  for  we 
never  saw  more  than  12  sailors  together,  more  generally 
odd  ones  only.  The  quiet  and  the  order  on  the  ship  was 
absolute  ;  no  hauling  of  ropes,  no  rattling  of  chains,  no  shout- 
ing to  the  helmsman,  no  smell  from  the  engine-room,  and  but 
very  little  noise  from  the  powerful  engines,  save  and  except  when 
she  was  in  troubled  waters  and  rolled  and  pitched,  and  then 
her  twin  screws  "raced"  and  caused  a  very  unpleasant  vibration. 

At  4-45  p.m.  she  cast  off  her  moorings,  and  with  the  aid  of 
a  tug  she  swung  round  and  put  her  head  to  the  tide.  At  first 
she  went  half  speed,  and  then  when  clear  of  the  small  river 
craft  she  put  on  more  speed.  Liverpool  seemed  to  pass  away 


from  us  rapidly,  like  a  moving  panorama,  and  in  a  very  few 
minutes  we  found  ourselves  at  sea.  Our  sail  in  the  evening 
light  down  the  Irish  Sea,  with  the  coast  of  North  Wales  in  full 
view  was  most  delightful.  The  motion  of  the  ship  from  the  sea 
was  nil.  We  had  a  fair  night  and  found  ourselves  a  6  o'clock 
next  morning  in  beautiful  Queenstown  Harbour.  The  mails 
were  soon  on  board,  aud  the  Irish  contingent  of  passengers. 
At  8  o'clock  we  got  out  to  sea  again,  and  steamed  along  and 
well  in  sight  of  the  Irish  coast  at  a  speed  of  23  miles  an  hour. 

AT  SEA. 

About  noon  we  had  reached  the  Fastnet  Rock  and  Light- 
house, the  Irish  "  Eddy  stone."  Here  our  course  was  set  for 
Sandy-Hook,  and  it  is  from  here  that  the  record  begins  of  the 
run  from  land  to  land.  The  wind  was  rather  fresh,  and  dead 
a-head.  The  sea  was  rough,  the  great  Atlantic  rollers  running 
high,  and  causing  even  the  majestic  Campania  to  pitch  in  a 
sedate  and  stately  manner.  The  Captain  said  "  We  have  ccme 
into  the  tail  end  of  a  storm,"  probably  the  one  the  Umbria  had 
passed  through,  as  she  was  considerably  over  due  at  Queens- 
town.  One  obtained  from  this  sight  an  idea  of  what  an 
Atlantic  wave  was  like.  The  pitching  sent  a  good  many  to 
their  berths,  and  considerably  thinned  the  attendance  at  dinner. 
We  found  the  dining  saloon  the  most  comfortable  place  on 
board,  for  it  is  as  nearly  amidships  as  possible.  The  dinner 
hour  was  announced  by  the  bugler  playing  "The  roast  beef  of 
Old  England."  At  dinner  we  became  quite  unconscious  that 
jne  was  on  board  ship,  and  many  a  time  have  we  got  up  from 
table  with  the  delusive  idea  that  we  had  been  dining  ashore  in 
some  large  hotel.  The  Campania  has  really  bridged  the  ocean 


and  made  it  possible  for  the  most  timid  and  delicate  to  cross. 
So  far  from  being  ill  we  were  neither  of  us,  either  on  the  out- 
ward or  homeward  voyage — even  squeamish  in  the  slightest 
degree  ;  although  on  returning  she  rolled  heavily,  as  we  had  a 
very  high  '  beam  sea '  on  for  two  or  three  days.  We  took  every 
meal  and  always  with  a  hearty  appetite.  To  show  how  steady 
the  Campania  is  compared  with  other  boats,  a  Canadian  lady 
told  us  on  the  return  voyage  that  she  had  crossed  the  Atlantic 
nineteen  times,  and  that  her  then  voyage  in  the  Campania  was 
the  only  time  that  she  had  not  been  ill.  Brave  Campania  ! 
I  must  speak  well  of  the  bridge  that  carried  me  over. 

We  saw  no  ship  till  the  third  day,  and  then  only  two  at  a 
considerable  distance.  We  were  then  about  midway,  1500 
miles  from  either  shore.  I  suppose  we  experienced  what  all 
travellers  more  or  less  experience  on  a  first  crossing  of  the 
ocean  ;  first  a  realization  of  its  vastness,  and  then  that  of  one's 
utter  helplessness  in  case  of  disaster.  I  believe  many  men 
have  been  led  to  take  a  more  serious  view  of  life  in  crossing 
the  sea,  especially  if  the  weather  was  at  all  stormy.  I  remem- 
ber an  elderly  friend  of  mine  told  me  that  the  turning  point  in 
his  life  "  for  good,"  came  during  a  terrific  storm  whilst  he  was 
crossing  the  Atlantic. 

OCEANIC  WATER  LANES. — It  is  however  a  great  comfort 
to  passengers  to  know  that  in  the  middle  of  the  ocean 
there  are  well  defined  "  water  lanes,"  one  by  which 
the  outward  bound  steamers  go,  and  another  well  separated 
from  that  by  many  miles,  by  which  the  inward  bound 
steamers  return.  This  is  one  means  at  all  events  of  avoiding 
collisions.  About  the  fifth  day  we  overtook  and  passed  nearly 
at  one  time,  towards  evening,  no  less  than  three  large  steamers  ; 


8 

one  a  French  Transatlantic  boat,  the  second  I  forget  the  line, 
and  the  third  the  Scythia,  of  our  own  line.  It  was  just  begin- 
ning to  be  dark,  and  it  was  very  pretty  and  interesting  in  mid 
ocean  to  exchange  greetings  with  her  by  electric  lights  and 
rockets.  It  was  also  pleasant  to  reflect  upon  the  fact  that,  in 
case  of  accident  we  had  three  steamers  near  to  render  assist- 
ance. The  sea  was  then  and  had  been  since  Sunday's  storm 
perfectly  calm,  and  continued  so  to  the  end  of  our  voyage. 
Another  pleasant  reflection  was  that  our  ship  had  twin  screws, 
so  that  if  one  broke  we  had  the  other  left,  which  would  pro- 
bably propel  us  at  the  rate  of  15  or  17  miles  an  hour.  Another 
comfort  was  in  knowing  that  our  ship  was  really  two  ships,  as 
she  was  completely  divided  in  the  middle,  from  stem  to  stern, 
and  besides  that  she  had  innumerable  watertight  bulkheads. 
We  suppose  that  these  reassuring  facts  in  some  measure,  caused 
us  to  sleep  well,  as  we  did  every  night ;  in  fact  we  slept  better 
at  sea  than  we  had  done  of  late  on  land.  Our  outward 
voyage  was  indeed  so  pleasant  that  one  began  to  wish  that 
instead  of  a  week,  it  would  last  for  a  fortnight.  Of  course 
we  had  an  "  Entertainment,"  and  made  a  good  collection, 
over  £70,  for  the  two  Sailors'  Orphanages  at  Liverpool  and 
New  York.  As  we  approached  the  land  a  sea  fog  now  and 
then  came  down  upon  us  for  a  few  hours.  But  on  we  went 
with  unabated  speed. 

A  RECORD  PASSAGE. — Our  passage  outward  was  a  record 
passage  on  the  "  winter  course,''  beating  herself  by  i  hour  and 
28  minutes.  About  an  hour  before  we  landed,  the  New  York 
Tribune  which  had  come  on  board  in  the  Medical  Inspector's 
boat,  gave  an  account  of  this  unprecedented  voyage  of  the 
Campania.  We  cite  this  as  an  example  of  American  newspaper 


energy  and  despatch.  We  were  landed  in  New  York  about 
7  o'clock  on  Friday  night.  Thus  we  did  the  entire  distance 
from  port  to  port,  3120  miles,  in  6  days  and  7  hours.  We 
give  the  daily  record  of  her  runs  : — 

Saturday,  4-45  p.m.  to  Sunday  noon,  343  miles. 

Sunday  noon  to  Monday  noon  503      ,, 

Monday  noon  to  Tuesday  noon 530     ,, 

Tuesday  noon  to  Wednesday  noon..  533      ,, 
Wednesday  noon  to  Thursday  noon.  536     ,, 

Thursday  noon  to  Friday  noon 540     ,, 

Friday  noon  to  Friday  6-15  p.m 135      ,, 


3120 


It  should  be  remembered  that  on  the  outward  voyage  from 
noon  to-day  to  noon  to-morrow  is  25  hours  ;  and  that  on  the 
homeward  voyage  it  is  only  23  hours,  so  that  she  always  appears 
to  make  a  bad  daily  run  homewards,  having  two  hours  less 
each  day  to  make  it  in.  Asa  matter  of  fact  our  return  voyage, 
under  somewhat  adverse  circumstances,  but  on  the  "summer 
course,"  which  is  the  shorter  one,  was  done  in  exactly  the 
same  time,  viz.,  6  days  7  hours. 

AN  IMPRESSIONIST.  — We  had  some  very  nice  people  on 
board,  and  made  some  very  pleasant  acquaintances  ;  if  we  had 
accepted  all  the  kind  offers  of  hospitality  proffered  to  us  by  our 
American  friends  our  departure  from  New  York  must  have  been 
somewhat  delayed.  Out  of  220  cabin  passengers  we  had  only 
one  little  girl  on  board,  aged  about  ten,  of  course  we  all  made 
much  of  her.  One  day  we  were  making  a  sketch  from  memory, 
our  subject  was  the  Fastnet  Rock.  Our  little  friend  was  by 


10 

us,  she  said,  "  How  can  you  sketch  a  thing  you  do  not  see?" 
We  said,  "  We  remember  it,  we  have  an  impression  of  it." 
She  said,  "What  is  an  impression?"  so  we  explained  by  mak- 
ing an  impression  with  the  round  end  of  the  pencil  on  the  back 
of  the  hand.  We  said,  "  There  is  an  impression,  and  one  is  also 
made  by  seeing  (only  in  a  different  manner)  on  the  mind  or 
brain,"  with  which  explanation  she  seemed  perfectly  satisfied. 
The  next  day  we  were  talking  to  a  Bishop  on  board.  We  said  to 
him,  "  Our  little  friend  here  can  tell  you  what  an  impression  is." 
We  said  to  her,  u  What  is  an  impression?"  "  Oh  !"  she  said, 
"  it  is  just  a  round  hole  made  on  the  back  of  your  hand  by  pres- 
sing a  pencil  on  it."  At  which  explanation  the  Bishop  was 
greatly  amused,  and  none  the  less  were  we. 

NEW    YORK  HARBOUR. 

We  had  a  magnificent  evening  to  enter  the  beautiful  harbour 
of  New  York.  It  was  impossible  not  to  be  struck  with  the 
imposing  figure  of  "  Liberty  "  (157  feet  high)  as  it  stood  out  in 
bold  relief  against  the  warm  tinted  evening  sky.  The  pedestal 
on  which  it  stands  is  also  155  feet  high.  One  must  however  say 
that  her  attitude  is  more  of  a  menace  than  a  welcome.  The 
harbour  was  very  gay  and  bright,  filled  with  yachts,  and  pon- 
derous, two  or  three-decked,  white-painted  pleasure  steamers, 
with  the  old  fashioned  lever  engines,  slowly  going  up  and  down 
like  pump  handles,  but  sending  the  steamers  through  the  water 
at  a  very  rapid  rate.  We  were  particularly  struck  with  the 
sombre  character  of  the  foliage,  so  different  to  that  of  our 
trees  in  England. 

We  can  hardly  describe  our  emotion,  as  we  slowly  steamed 
up  to  our  landing  stage.  Naturally  we  felt  a  feeling  of  thank- 


II 


fulness  in  having  had  so  favourable  and  so  swift  a  crossing, 
but  our  hearts  were  full  of  excitement  in  beholding  this  first 
instalment  of  the  New  World.  Everything  around  us  seemed 
novel,  not  only  the  high-decked  river  steamers,  and  the  flat- 
bottomed  ferry  boats,  each  at  every  possible  opportunity 
blowing  its  sonorous  buzzer,  but  the  ships  were  different  in 
their  build  and  rig,  and  appeared  to  be  chiefly  three  or  four- 
masted  schooners.  Then  the  appearance  of  the  City,  illumined 
by  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  was  so  different  to  all  we  had 
ever  seen  before.  No  steeples  or  spires  of  churches,  or  stately 
palaces,  broke  the  outline  against  the  sky,  as  we  had  been 
accustomed  to  see  in  our  travels  in  European  countries,  but 
enormous  blocks  of  buildings  12  or  13  stories  high,  dominated 
by  some  10  or  a  dozen  other  higher  and  more  massive  build- 
ings, from  20  to  24  stories  high,  formed  the  southern  portion 
of  the  busy  City  of  New  York,  which  here  narrows  down 
almost  to  a  point,  terminating  in  the  Battery  and  Castle 
Garden.  To  the  left  the  Hudson  River  was  flowing,  bearing 
the  fresh  waters  of  the  sea  up  its  broad  and  expansive  channel, 
while  to  the  right  the  narrower  East  River  separated  the  City 
from  Brooklyn.  In  the  distance  one  could  see  the  Suspension 
Bridge,  hanging  like  a  spider's  web  in  mid  air.  All  was  com- 
motion and  excitement  on  the  river,  while  above  all  was 
serenity  and  peace. 

DISEMBARKING. — It  was  wonderful  to  see  with  what  ease 
they  brought  our  great  Leviathan  to  its  resting  place,  in  its 
own  narrow  dock.  Having  got  two  or  three  steel  wire  ropes 
made  fast  on  shore,  she  was  able  to  hold  her  head  in  one 
position  whilst  three  or  four  little  tug  steamers  literally  ram- 
med at  her  side,  near  the  stern,  and  pushed  her  round  so  as  to 


12 


guide  her  into  the  berth.  Each  "  Line  "  has  a  separate  dock 
for  their  steamers.  The  docks  here  are  not  like  our  Liverpool 
docks,  as  they  are  merely  sidings,  between  wooden  structures, 
jutting  out  into  the  River  Hudson,  and  have  no  entrance  gates 
or  locks,  but  the  water  in  the  dock  rises  and  falls  with  that  in 
the  river,  the  rise  and  fall  not  being  great,  rarely  exceeding  10 
feet  at  spring  tides. 

Having  obtained  our  Custom's  pass,  we  waited  patiently 
till  the  crowd  of  800  passengers  had  gone  on  shore,  and  then 
we  quietly  sauntered  down  the  gangway  where  we  were  met,  as 
previously  arranged,  by  the  Agent  of  Messrs.  Cook,  and  well 
was  it  for  us  that  he  was  there.  We  had  foreseen  that  trouble 
might  arise  here,  in  all  the  bustle  and  confusion  of  disembark- 
ing, and  landing  baggage,  but  our  most  lively  anticipations 
were  but  as  tinder  sparks  to  the  full  blaze  of  the  electric  light. 
We  have  had  many  rough  and  boisterous  landings,  notably,  in 
Algiers,  Constantinople,  and  other  strange  and  outlandish 
places,  both  by  night  and  by  day,  but  for  tumult  and  confusion 
and  deafening  roar,  shouting,  yelling  and  screaming,  and  the 
rattling  at  one  time  of  50  or  60  barrows  laden  with  trunks,  all 
jolting  over  the  planks,  (laid  at  least  an  inch  apart)  with  the 
dragging  and  pulling  about  of  luggage,  (in  the  huge  wooden 
shed,  which  was  dimly  lighted^  our  landing  at  New  York 
stands  out  pre-eminently  the  worst.  The  first  care  of  our  good 
guide  was  to  place  my  wife  in  a  waiting  room  where  there  was 
comparative  quietude.  Then  we  got  together  our  baggage  and 
had  it  most  expeditiously  passed  by  a  polite  Custom's  Examin- 
ing Officer.  The  larger  baggage  was  then  "  Expressed,"  that 
is  sent  by  a  carrier  to  our  hotel,  and  a  cab  or  "  Hack,"  was 
engaged  by  our  cicerone,  the  fare  being  arranged  and  paid 


'3 

beforehand  (2  dollars  or  8s.  for  about  a  two  miles  course  !) 
We  expressed  our  gratitude  tangibly  to  our  friend,  and  bidding 
him  adieu  left  the  shed,  being  probably  among  the  first  to 
quit  that  earthly  pandemonium,  although  we  were  the  last  to 
leave  the  ship,  and  away  we  sped  as  fast  as  two  horses  could 
drag  us  over  ill  paved  streets  (for  the  most  part)  to  our  hotel. 
Our  driver  was  evidently  anxious  to  return,  so  as  to  obtain 
another  fare.  "  Hacks  "  are  scarce  in  New  York,  perhaps  that 
is  why  they  are  so  dear.  We  spent  a  most  wretched  night  in 
New  York,  the  temperature  being  90°  in  the  shade.  We  could 
hardly  breathe  ;  no  doubt  we  felt  the  heat  all  the  more  as  we 
had  just  come  off  the  breezy  sea.  We  neither  of  us  slept,  so 
we  determined  to  get  out  of  that  fiery  furnace  as  soon  as  we 
possibly  could. 

HOTELS. 

Our  hotel  was  a  large  and  spacious  one  in  Broadway.  One 
hotel  is  very  like  another.  In  some  hotels  the  waiters  are 
coloured  men,  and  in  others  white.  Here  they  were  coloured, 
probably  there  were  20  or  30  of  them  in  the  dining  hall  at 
breakfast.  We  were  pleased  with  our  "darkie,"  and  were 
amused  when  he  asked  if  he  might  "  replenish  "  our  glass  with 
iced  water.  Everywhere  the  first  thing  put  on  the  table  at  any 
meal  is  iced  water ;  it  is  not  only  a  luxury,  it  is  an  absolute 
necessity.  Apropos  of  iced  water,  we  noticed  in  the  room  at 
least  half  a  dozen  toilet  services,  (consisting  of  basin  and  ewer) 
placed  by  the  walls  on  each  side  at  intervals.  As  everything 
was  new  to  us  we  thought  at  first  it  was  a  strange  custom  for 
the  Americans  to  wash  in  the  same  room  where  they  dined,  but 
we  saw  no  one  do  so.  At  last  the  mystery  was  solved  on 


14 

seeing  our  waiter  go  to  one  of  the  ewers  and  fill  our  glass  with 
iced  water.  This  curious  arrangement  prevailed  in  almost  all 
the  hotels  we  afterwards  visited,  although  the  ewers  varied  from 
bed  room  pitchers  to  classic  vases.  The  knives  are  nearly 
always  execrable,  at  first  giving  one  the  idea  that  the  meat  was 
tough,  but  it  was  the  fault  of  the  knife,  they  are  plated  (pre- 
sumably to  save  cleaning  and  wear  and  tear),  but  a  knife  need 
not  be  blunt  if  it  is  plated,  as  knives  in  England  for  cutting 
lemons  are  both  sharp  and  plated  The  egg  cups  are  curiously 
shaped,  somewhat  like  a  dice-box,  only  one  end  is  larger  than 
the  other.  The  smaller  end  is  for  the  egg  when  boiled 
English  fashion,  the  larger,  for  the  eggs  when  beaten  up  American 
fashion. 

Another  feature  of  hotel  life  is  the  BELL  BOY,  (generally 
a  darkie)  whose  duty  it  is  to  answer  your  bed-room  bell  and 
to  bring  iced  water  morning  and  night  to  your  room.  The 
chambermaid  never  answers  the  bell,  and  is  very  rarely  seen. 
She  makes  the  beds  in  the  morning  and  cleans  up  the  room 
and  is  no  more  visible,  presumably  going  back  to  her  home 
after  her  morning's  work  is  done.  Her  labour  is  minimised  as 
much  as  possible,  as  there  are  no  washstands  in  the  ordinary 
sense,  but  fixed  basins  with  a  supply  of  hot  and  cold  water. 
These  hot  water  pipes  are  a  great  nuisance,  as  when  the 
weather  is  hot  they  make  a  room  almost  unbearable,  as  we 
often  experienced. 

RATES. — The  rates  in  hotels  are  of  two  kinds.  The 
"  American  plan,"  where  you  pay  from  2 \  up  to  6  or  7  dollars  a 
day,  according  to  the  rooms  you  occupy,  (abatement  being 
made  for  portions  of  a  day),  and  the  "  European  plan."  where 
you  pay  separately  for  what  you  have.  We  almost  invariably 


went  on  the  American  plan,  which  prevails  throughout  the 
States,  except  at  a  few  hotels  in  the  eastern  cities.  Having 
had  a  pretty  fair  European  experience  we  know  what  the  small 
Continental  hotels  are.  How  many  exasperated  travellers  has 
one  seen  at  that  "  quart  ifheure  de  Rabelais]'  when  the  extor- 
tionate bills  have  been  presented  !  One  fully  expected  to  have 
many  such  trying  times  in  America.  It  is  very  pleasant  for  us 
to  record  that  (saving  in  two  instances  in  the  eastern  cities, 
which  are  Europeanised)  we  never  had  a  word  about  the  bill. 
The  waiters  were  invariably  thoroughly  well  up  to  their  duty, 
and  the  Secretaries  in  the  office  were  always  exceedingly  polite 
and  attentive  to  our  wants.  We  found  hotel  life  in  America 
very  pleasant  and  agreeable,  the  food  was  always  good  and 
substantial,  better  at  some  places  than  others.  There  are  no 
table  d?  hote  meals.  All  sit  at  separate  tables,  and  have  one 
common  bill  of  fare  to  select  from.  Breakfast,  lunch  and 
dinner  are  at  fixed  hours,  but  the  length  of  each  meal  is  very 
elastic;  breakfast  extending  over  probably  four  or  five  hours, 
and  the  others  two  or  three.  The  public  rooms  were  spacious 
and  well  furnished,  sometimes  elegantly  so,  and  the  bed-rooms 
were  without  exception  scrupulously  clean  and  orderly.  There 
is  a  singular  provision  in  every  bed-room  (ordered  by  the 
State),  a  rope  is  fastened  near  to  the  window,  to  be  used  as  a 
means  of  escape  in  case  of  fire,  a  hazardous  remedy  when  your 
room  is  on  the  sixth  or  seventh  floor ;  the  antidote  being  as 
bad  as  the  bane. 

There  is  no  charge  made  in  American  hotels  for  attendance 
or  lights,  but  there  is  a  charge,  and  a  pretty  high  one,  for 
cleaning  your  boots,  viz.,  5d.  a  pair,  and  sometimes  visitors 
are  informed  that  "the  manager  will  not  be  responsible  for 


i6 

boots  placed  outside  bed-room  doors."  As  a  fact  boots  are 
cleaned  by  a  "  bootshiner "  on  his  own  account.  "Tips" 
have  travelled  across  the  Atlantic,  and  in  the  eastern  cities  are 
as  much  in  request  as  in  Europe,  but  not  so  much  so  in  the 
west.  In  every  hotel  there  is  a  "  Barber  Shop,"  and  usually 
a.  telegraph  office  and  a  newspaper  stall. 

The  great  feature  in  the  American  hotels  is  the  Central 
Hall  or  Quadrangle.  Our  eye  runs  back  in  memory  to  several 
very  spacious  and  beautiful  ones,  notably  to  the  great  Court  in 
the  "West"  Hotel,  Minneapolis,  to  the  one  in  the  "  Grand" 
at  Cincinnati,  and  to  the  one  at  the  "Knutsford"  in  Salt 
Lake  City.  American  Bars  are  very  expensive  places.  In  fact, 
•drinking  in  any  shape  is  very  dear,  (excepting  tea  and  coffee, 
which  is  provided  gratis  at  every  meal,  in  large  or  small  cups 
ad  libitum.)  One  has  to  pay  8s.  for  a  bottle  of  claret  that 
in  England  would  appear  in  the  wine  list  at  25.  6d.  But  little 
wine  is  drunk  in  America ;  there  may  be  other  reasons  for  this 
than  temperance  principles,  although  abstinence  is  pretty 
universal.  Wine  is  never  pressed  upon  a  visitor,  and  only 
•once  was  a  Wine  card  ever  offered  to  us. 

It  may  interest  our  readers  to  peruse  an  American  "  Bill 
•of  Fare,"  many  of  the  dishes  will  be  unknown  :  — 


'7 


—  •*«— 

FRUIT:     Stewed  Prunes.          Baked  Apples.  Grapes.  Bananas. 


Sliced  Tomatoes.  Radishes. 

FISH  :     White  Fish,  Maitre  d'Hotel.  River  Salmon.  Red  Snapper. 

Fried  Perch.  Lake  Trout.  Salt  Mackrel. 


BROILED:  Ham.     Tenderloin  Steak,  au  Cresson.     Calf  s  Liver  and  Bacon. 
Pig's  Feet.          Honeycomb  Tripe.         Sirloin  Steak,  with  Onions. 

Lamb  Kidneys.  Sirloin  Steak,  Maitre  d'Hotel. 

Veal  Chops.          Lamb  Chops,  Mutton  Chops.  Pork  Chops. 


Boston  Baked  Beans,  with  Brown  Bread.  Hamburger  Steak. 

FRIED  :     Codfish  Balls,          Mush.          Corned  Beef  Hash.          Pig's  Feet. 
Veal  Cutlets,  breaded,  Tomato  Sauce.     Oysters.     Hominy.     Pork  Sausage 


STEWED  :  Chipped  Beef,  with  Cream.  Tripe,  a  la  Creole.. 

Codfish,  with  Cream.        Lamb  Kidneys.  White  Wine  Sauce. 

Chicken  Liver,  with  Mushrooms.     Chicken.     Calf  s  Brains,  au  Beurre  Noir. 


EGGS:     Boiled.       Shirred.      Scrambled.      Poached.      Meyerbeer.      Fried. 


Omelettes  :  Plain,  Spanish,  with  Ham,  Jelly,  Parsley,  Onions  or  Rum. 


COLD  DISHES:     Roast  Beef.       Corned  Beef.       Turkey.      Roast  Mutton. 
Beef  Tongue.  Ham. 

POTATOES:     Minced.      Boiled.      Stewed.      Baked.     Lyonnaise. 
Fried.         Stewed,  Maitre  d'Hotel. 


Swiss  Rolls.  Home-made  Bread.  Wheat  Cake. 

French  Rolls.  Graham  Bread.  Cracked  Wheat 

Graham  Rolls.  Boston  Brown  Bread.      Oatmeal  and  Cream. 

Albany  Rolls.  Rye  Bread.  Hominy. 

Delmonico  Rolls.         Corn  Muffins.  Corn  Bread. 


Coffee.  Oolong  Tea.  Green  Tea.  Chocolate. 

English  Breakfast  Tea.  Cocoa. 


i8 

In  addition  to  these  dishes  we  often  had  others  peculiar  to 
America,  such  as,  squash,  cantaloupe,  water  melon,  egg  plants, 
corn  in  cob,  clams,  cold  slaw,  clam  chawdar,  "sheep's  head," 
(anent  which  we  have  a  tale  to  tell.  As  we  had  often  heard 
of  the  extreme  delicacy  of  a  sheep's  head,  we  thought  "here 
is  a  good  opportunity  to  try  it,''  so  we  ordered  one,  and  with 
expectant  appetite  awaited  its  arrival.  ;  lo  !  and  behold,  when 
the  cover  was  taken  off,  it  was  a  boiled  fish  of  that  name. 
Imagine  our  disappointment.)  Griddle  cakes,  maple  syrup, 
Graham  rolls,  tender-loin  steak,  English  breakfast  tea,  (what- 
ever that  is),  Boston  beans,  string  beans,  pumpkin  pies,  punch, 
sherbert,  ices,  &c. 

It  was  at  times  amusing  to  notice  the  number  of  dishes  that 
a  guest  would  have  on  the  table  at  one  time,  for  it  is  the  prac- 
tice to  order  at  once  what  you  intend  to  have,  and  it  is  all 
brought  together,  so  that  one  may  see  himself  surrounded  by 
six  or  seven  small  dishes,  with  cups  and  saucers,  coffee  pot 
and  jugs. 

BROILED  OWL. — To  our  great  astonishment  the  bill  of  fare 
one  day  included  "  broiled  owl."  We  thought  (in  our  inno- 
cency)  "what  extraordinary  palates  the  Americans  have  to  relish 
the  night  screecher,"  but  as  "  Terrapin  "  is  a  delight  to  them, 
though  not  to  us,  we  dismissed  the  thought,  as  there  is  no 
accounting  for  tastes,  "  chaciin  a  son  gout'*  But  when  we 
expressed  our  surprise  to  the  lady  of  the  house  at  such  a  dish 
being  on  the  card,  a  significant  smile  on  her  face  revealed 
to  us  what  it  was,  and  she  added,  "  You  see  game  is  out  of 
season,  so  we  are  obliged  to  call  it  something." 


19 

ITINERAR  Y. 

Before  we  commence  our  long  journey  of  nearly  9,000 
miles  from  East  to  West  and  back,  we  think  it  may  interest 
our  readers  if  we  lay  before  them  a  record  of  the  places  of 
note  which  we  visited,  and  of  the  time  occupied  in  making 
the  tour: — 


DATE. 

1895. 

LOCALITY. 

DATE. 

i895- 

LOCALITY. 

July  13 

s 

Left  Liverpool  at  4-45  p.m. 

Aug.  26 

M 

Night  in  Train,  16  hours. 

i>     J4 

s 

„    27 

Tu 

)                 Minneapolis. 

je 

M 

„    28 

W 

F                       Do. 

ii      l6 

Tu 

At  Sea,  6  days  7  hours. 

ii    29 

TH 

)     C.  &  P.  Train.     45  hours. 

n     *7 

W 

ii    30 

F 

1242  miles. 

18 

TH 

ii    31 

S 

II      20 
,.      21 

f 

S 

'   Landed  at  NEW  YORK  7  p.m. 
j-          Catskill  Mountains. 

Sept.  i 

,,         2 
o 

S 

M 

Tu 

Banff  Springs. 
Rocky  Mountains. 

,,      22 

M 

ii        J 

n       4 

W 

Glacier. 

„    23  Tu 
„    24  W 

Kaaterskill  Hotel. 

TH 
F 

Do. 
In  Train  29  hours. 

,i    25  TH 

,       7 

S 

) 

„    26 
ii    27 

F 
S 

Catskill  Mountains. 

.      8 
•      9 

g 

r                  TOCOMA. 

s 

,     10 

Tu 

PORTLAND. 

ii    29 

M 

Hudson,  Chatham,  Lebanon 

W 

In  Train  22  hours. 

„    3° 
Aug."  i 

l«         2 

Tu 
\V 
Tu 

F 

[Saratoga.      [Springs.  Shakers 

Lake  George. 
\             Lake  Champlain. 

',    *3 

TH 
F 

S 
a 

Spokane  Falls. 
In  Train  30  hours. 
-*  I  Mammoth  Hot  Springs. 

»      3 
ii      4 

]•              Ausable  Chasm. 
)                         Do- 

1    16 

M 
Tu 

^3  4      Lower  Geyser  Basin. 

ii      5 

M 

(MONTREAL. 

',    18 

W 

Lake. 

„      6 

;:  i 

Tu 
W 
TH 

Do. 
Do. 
OTTAWA. 

»    19 

I      20 
1      21 

TH 
F 

s 

J  -1        GRAND  CANYON. 

ii      9 

F 

Brockville. 

,      22 

s 

>     Mammoth  Hot  Springs. 

„       10 

ii    Ix 

S 
S 

11000  Islands. 
TORONTO. 

l      24 

M 
TV 

)  In  Train  (including  6  hours  at 
F         Butte  City)  38  hours 

12 

M 

Do. 

l      35 

W 

}• 

>i    X3 

Tu 

Do. 

,      26 

1'H 

»i    M 

W 
TH 

NIAGARA. 

•    27 

i    28 

F 

s 

SALT  LAKE  CITY. 

"    16 

F 

Buffalo. 

•    29 

"    1  8 

S 

S 

DUNKIRK. 

»    3° 
Oct.   i 

ru 

In  Train  24  hours. 
DENVER. 

i>    19 

M 

Chautauqua. 

,         2 

w 

)                     Manitou 

II      20 

II      2I 

Tu 
W 

I 

Night  in  Train,  12$  hours. 

.      3 
>      4 

FH 
F 

)            Colorado  Springs. 
ROYAL  GORGE.    In  Train  27 

II      22 

TH 

(CHICAGO. 

5 

S 

LEADVILLE.        [hours. 

23 

F 

Do. 

,      6 

s 

DFNVER. 

>.      24 

S 

Do. 

•      7 

M 

In  Trian  U.  P.  30  hours. 

!.        25 

S 

Do. 

,      8 

Tu 

ST.  Louis. 

2O 


ITINERARY  Continued. 


DATE. 
1895. 

LOCALITY. 

DATE. 

1895. 

LOCALITY. 

Oct.    9 

W 

ST.  Louis. 

Nov.  5 

Tu 

)             BALTIMORE  and 

„      10 

TH 
F 

CINCINNATI. 

6 
7 

W 
TH 

f             PHILADELPHIA. 

,,       12 

»    J3 

S 
S 

1              CLEVELAND. 

8 
9 

F 

S 

1M 

Dunkirk. 

10 

S 

,    J5 

Tu 

ii 

M 

,    16 
.     T7 

W 

TH 

NIAGARA  and  ROCHESTER. 

12 
13 

Tu 

W 

i     l8 

F 
S 

14 
15 

TH 
F 

NEW  YORK. 

,      20 

BOSTON. 

16 

S 

C* 

,      21 

i\l 

17 

S 

,      22 

To 

18 

M 

»      23 

W 

Newport. 

19 

Tu 

,,      24 

TH 

20 

W 

„      25 

F 

21 

TH 

26 

g 

22 

F 

j 

>,      27 

S 

NEW    YORK. 

23 

S 

Sailed  at  10  a.m. 

»      28 

M 

24 

S 

>      29 

Tu 

25 

M 

,      30 

W 

26 

TV 

AT  SEA. 

,    31 

TH 

I1 

27 

W 

Six  days  7  hours. 

Nov.  i 

F 

28 

TH 

,         2 

,       3 

S 

S 

WASHINGTON. 

29 
30 

F 
S 

Landed  at  Liverpool  10  p.mf 
HOME. 

!)             4 

M 

Mount  Vernon. 

RAIL  WA  VS. 

ROLLING  STOCK. — We  made  two  flying  visits  in  a  cable  car 
down  Broadway,  to  Messrs.  Cook's  offices,  to  receive  letters  of 
welcome  to  us  on  our  landing,  and  to  arrange  for  the  forward- 
ing of  letters  and  other  matters.  We  shall  never  forget  the 
feeling  of  comfort  that  those  letters  from  two  of  our  American 
friends  gave  us,  in  welcoming  us  to  their  vast  country  and 
inviting  us  to  their  homes.  Even  now  we  feel  a  keen  apprecia- 
tion of  the  kindly  sympathy  expressed  in  them.  As  the  heat 
still  continued  stifling,  we  determined  after  resting  20  hours 
only  in  New  York  to  fly  for  refuge  to  the  cooler  heights  of  the 
Catskill  mountains.  By  3  o'clock  p.m.  we  were  off,  and  crossed 


21 

the  Hudson  by  the  ferry  to  take  train  to  Catskill  by  the  West 
Shore  Railroad.  This,  of  course,  was  our  first  experience  of 
railway  travelling,  and  very  novel  it  was.  We  were  glad  to 
find  a  Pullman  Car,  and  obtained  seats  in  it.  We  had  often 
heard  of  the  "rolling  stock"  of  railway  companies,  but  we 
never  before  realized  the  full  significancy  of  the  term  until  we 
attempted  to  walk  from  one  end  of  the  Pullman  Car  to  the 
other,  and  then  we  experienced  its  true  meaning.  So  terrible 
was  the  rocking  to  and  fro  that  once  we  were  thrown  on  the 
floor.  The  motion  on  the  "  Campania  "  was  fractional  to  that 

A  RIVER  STORM. — When  nearing  West  Point  a  terrific 
squall  and  thunder  storm  burst  over  the  Hudson,  along  whose 
picturesque  banks  we  were  speeding  at  the  rate  of  60  miles  an 
hour.  The  hurricane — for  it  was  no  less-— lashed  the  water 
into  spray,  which  it  drove  before  it,  for  fully  a  mile.  The 
lightning  was  fearful,  and  the  rain  came  down  in  torrents.  We 
afterwards  learnt  from  the  New  York  papers,  that  this  storm 
was  one  of  the  worst  that  had  ever  been  known  on  the  Hudson. 
Subsequently  we  passed  through  (within  a  single  month)  not 
less  than  eight  or  nine  more  very  severe  thunder  storms,  realiz- 
ing that  an  American  summer  consists  not  as  ours  of  "  three 
hot  days  and  a  thunder  storm,"  but  of  a  series  of  hot  days 
followed  by  a  series  of  thunder  storms. 

RAILWAY  STATIONS,  &c. — There  is  a  marked  difference 
between  American  railroads  and  ours.  In  populous  districts 
there  are  usually  two  lines  or  "tracks,"  (sometimes  four)  the 
"  Up  "  track  being  on  the  right,  while  ours  is  always  on  the 
left;  but  in  the  remoter  and  Western  States  there  is  only  one 
track.  We  have  travelled  over  2000  miles  at  one  time  on  these 
01  e  track  railroads,  and  have  not  passed  through  a  single  town 


22 

with  2000  inhabitants,  and  once  we  travelled  200  miles  and 
never  even  passed  a  house,  so  much  less  a  hamlet,  excepting 
every  20  miles  the  house  of  the  inspector  of  the  track.  Of 
course  in  these  desolate  regions  there  is  only  one  train  a  day. 
With  the  exception  of  New  York,  St.  Louis,  Boston,  and  one 
or  two  other  places,  the  stations  (or,  as  they  call  them,  "depots") 
are  very  poor  structures,  chiefly  built  of  wood.  There  are  no 
platforms,  and,  as  the  carriages  are  high,  a  footstool  has  to  be 
used  to  ascend  the  steps.  Trains  are  perpetually  entering  or 
leaving  a  station;  warning  is  given  by  a  huge  bell  on  the 
engine,  which  must  always  be  kept  ringing  when  the  engine 
is  in  motion,  but  there  are  no  places  of  refuge  for  the  bewildered 
traveller  to  flee  to.  Great  liberty  is  allowed  in  entering  or 
leaving  a  carriage.  Sometimes  where  the  track  is  laid  for  half 
a  mile  or  more  in  the  centre  of  the  principal  street  in  a  town, 
(and  this  is  no  unusual  thing,  for  instance,  it  is  so  at  Buffalo, 
a  city  of  250,000  inhabitants)  if  it  suits  the  convenience  of  a 
passenger  to  leave,  he  will  get  off  the  "  car  "  where  it  suits  him 
best,  and  no  notice  is  taken  of  it  by  anyone.  Even  in  Phila- 
delphia the  rails  cross  the  principal  street  of  the  city  (North 
Broad  Street)  on  the  level,  and  close  to  the  largest  "  Depot"  in 
the  city.  In  country  towns  half  of  the  principal  thoroughfare 
in  the  place  is  usually  occupied  by  the  tracks,  but  the  bell 
is  always  kept  going.  No  wonder  that  there  are  nearly 
8000  deaths  a  year  caused  by  railway  accidents.  When 
a  train  is  started,  but  little  warning  is  given  to  the  passengers, 
everybody  is  expected  to  be  in  his  seat  at  the  time  fixed  for 
departure.  No  porter,  (in  America  a  porter  is  a  "  rara  avis" 
every  passenger  having  to  carry  his  own  "  grip"  and  wraps,) 
no  porter  considerately  calls  out  "  Take  your  seats  please, "" 


23 

there  is  no  preliminary  examination  of  tickets,  no  ringing  of 
bells  five  minutes  before  starting,  but  when  time,  is  up,  the 
conductor  calls  out,  "  Arl  Aboord"  (all  on  board),  the  bell  on 
the  engine  begins  to  toll,  and  the  train  gently  moves  along, 
giving  just  one  last  chance  to  any  tardy  traveller  to  jump  upon 
the  steps  and  save  his  train.  In  America  you  have  to  ask  for 
the  "  ticket  office,"  the  term  "booking  office"  would  not  be 
understood,  and  one  "buys  a  ticket,"  not  "takes"  or  "gets'1  one. 

SAFETY  PRECAUTIONS. — It  is  interesting  to  know  how  the 
departures  of  trains  are  regulated  on  railroads  with  a  single 
"  track."  On  such  a  line  there  is  a  "Track  Controller,"  who 
is  immediately  informed  by  telegram  of  the  arrival  and  depar- 
ture of  trains  at  each  station,  and  of  any  delay  or  accident  to 
them,  so  that  he  knows  the  position  of  every  train,  although  he 
may  be  500  miles  or  more  away  from  the  most  distant  one. 
He  then  telegraphs  to  the  respective  conductors  (from  time  to 
time)  ordering  them  where  to  stop,  and  meet  trains  going  in  the 
opposite  direction.  Thus  all  responsibility  is  centred  in  one 
person,  and  the  safety  of  the  passengers  is  not  left  in  the 
hands  of  careless  or  negligent  local  "agents,"  as  they  call 
station  masters. 

RAILWAY  GUARDS. — While  I  am  thus  writing  of  railroads,  let 
me  say  a  word  or  two  about  the  "Conductors"  of  the  trains.  The 
Conductor  of  the  train  is  a  very  different  personage  in  America  to 
our  guard  in  England.  An  American  conductor  is  an  itinerant 
station  master,  guard,  booking  clerk  and  ticket  collector  all  rolled 
into  one.  It  is  he  who  rules  and  regulates  and  starts  the  train.  In 
case  of  need  he  can  sell  tickets,  and  in  all  cases  he  collects  the 
tickets  in  the  cars.  As  Guard  he  has  little  to  do,  for  there  is  a 
"baggageman  "  to  look  after  the  luggage,  and  a  "brakeman  "  to 


24 

look  after  the  brakes.  The  conductor  is  a  very  superior  man  for 
that  position  in  life,  and  the  pay  of  a  conductor  might  excite 
the  envy  of  thousands  of  underpaid  Curates  and  Ministers  in 
England,  for  he  receives  125  dollars  a  month,  or  £300  a  year, 
and  his  subordinate,  the  brakeman,  receives  ,£120  a  year. 
The  marvel  to  me  is  that,  with  a  perpetual  surplus  of  labour  in 
the  market,  the  prices  of  labour  can  be  kept  up. 

TICKETS. — The  American  ticket  is  very  different  from  the 
English  one.  It  consists  of  a  series  of  small  paper  tickets 
annexed  to  each  other  and  following  the  order  of  the  route. 
Our  Canadian  Pacific  Railroad  ticket  was  about  40  inches 
long.  One  of  those  small  tickets,  being  2\  inches  long  by  \\ 
wide  carried  us  probably  1000  miles,  while  in  the  next  300  or 
400  miles  we  might  have  to  part  with  four  or  five  tickets. 
One  ticket  generally  covers  the  division  of  the  line  that  the 
conductor  goes.  It  is  the  practice  of  the  conductors  to 
collect  the  tickets  immediately  they  come  "  on  board  "  for 
the  portion  of  the  ''track"  they  cover,  and  on  taking  your 
ticket,  to  place  in  the  ribbon  of  your  hat,  bon  gre  mat  gre,  a 
little  blue  or  white  slip,  according  to  the  distance  you  are 
travelling  with  him,  so  that  he  may  know  he  has  received  your 
ticket. 

A  RAILWAY  CARRIAGE. — The  names  of  the  Depots  or 
stations  passed  were  very  familiar  to  us.  At  Kingston  we  had 
to  change  carriages  and  leave  our  luxurious  car  for  the  ordin- 
ary omnibus  first-class  car.  These  carriages  are  often  of 
enormous  length,  probably  80  feet  long  and  seating  about  80 
people.  There  is  a  passage  down  the  centre  of  the  carriage, 
the  seats  are  on  either  side,  each  seat  accommodating 
two  persons.  At  each  end  of  the  carriage  is  a  "  toilet" 


25 

room,  and  iced  drinking  water  is  also  provided.  These 
carriages  are  called  "first"  class,  but  only  once  or  twice 
did  we  ever  see  a  third  class,  or  "emigrants'  car,"  as  they 
are  called.  So  that  as  a  fact  there  is  only  one  class,  and 
all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men — and  women  too — meet 
there.  A  separate  carriage  is  provided  for  smokers.  The 
seats  are  well  upholstered,  sometimes  being  covered  with 
crimson  plush. 

ACCIDENTS. — So  that  they  may  be  ready  when  needed  in 
case  of  accident,  an  axe,  a  saw,  and  a  small  sledge  hammer,  are 
required  by  law  to  be  carried  in  each  carriage  and  placed  in  a 
conspicuous  position.  To  soothe  the  somewhat  alarming 
thoughts  raised  by  these  implements,  they  are  made  (in  the 
Pullman  cars)  to  look  as  innocent  and  ornamental  as  possible, 
in  having  the  metal  part  gilded. 

CHECKING  BAGGAGE. — The  Americans  have  the  most  per- 
fect and  the  most  convenient  system  of  registering  luggage  by 
trains  or  steamers  of  any  people.  The  allowance  of  luggage, 
150  Ibs.  each  passenger,  is  very  liberal.  On  arrival  at  the 
Depot  your  luggage  is  deposited  at  the  baggage  room,  you 
produce  your  ticket,  (suppose  you  are  going  from  New  York 
to  Uoston)  a  small  brass  label  marked  "  Boston,"  and  bearing 
a  number,  is  attached  to  the  handle  of  the  trunk  by  means  of 
a  small  strap,  and  you  receive  a  duplicate  of  such  brass  label 
with  "Boston"  and  the  same  number  stamped  on  the  brass. 
When  you  reach  Boston  an  authorised  "  Express  Agent " 
comes  "  aboard  "  the  cars,  you  give  him  your  label  and  tell  him 
to  what  hotel  you  desire  your  luggage  to  be  sent,  he  gives  you  a 
memorandum  and  you  pay  him  generally  50  cents.  You  have 
no  more  trouble.  On  alighting,  without  delay  you  ride  or  walk 


26 

to  your  hotel,  and  in  an  hour  or  two  your  trunk  will  be  in  your 
room.     The  Railways  make   no  charge  for  checking  baggage. 

A  CONTRAST. — Contrast  the  above  satisfactory  method 
with  your  arrival  in  a  train  from  Edinburgh  at  some  London 
terminus.  What  a  scramble  for  luggage  !  with  no  identification 
but  a  label  on  it,  and  no  certainty  as  to  which  part  of  the  train 
of  12  or  15  carriages  it  is  in.  Poor  ladies!  poor  invalids! 
what  can  they  do?  no  one  can  identity  it  but  themselves ;  whereas 
if  it  had  a  check  or  ticket  the  porter  con  Id  get  it  as  well  as 
they.  We  know  that  noblemen  and  country  squires  can  have 
their  luggage  specially  arranged  for  and  forwarded  to  their 
homes,  but  the  general  public  are  uncared  for.  We  consider 
that  our  system  of  transporting  luggage  is  a  DISGRACE  to  us  as 
a  practical  Nation  ! 

AN  AMERICAN  INIQUITY — Can  we  find  any  fault  with  the 
good  American  people  1  Yes  !  but  it  is  with  a  very  limited 
section,  namely,  with  the  Railroad  Directors.  Every  one  in 
these  days  is  familiar  with  a  sleeping  car.  In  the  American 
"sleeper"  the  seats  you  occupy  by  day  become  your  couch 
at  night,  and  then  over  you  a  berth,  which  is  snugly  put  up  by 
day,  is  let  down  over  the  lower  one  and  occupied.  Now  our 
cause  of  complaint  is  this :  One  very  hot  day  in  August,  say 
85°  to  90°  in  the  shade,  we  were  travelling  in  a  sleeper.  We 
two  were  the  only  occupants  of  the  car  by  day,  and  at  night 
too,  excepting  one  man  who  occupied  a  berth  at  the  far  end  of 
the  carriage.  We  occupied  two  opposite  bottom  berths. 
When  the  porter  made  up  our  berths,  we  said  to  him,  "  As  it 
is  so  hot  to-night,  please  do  not  put  down  the  upper  berth  as 
there  is  no  one  to  occupy  it."  He  was  a  very  obliging  porter, 
and  said,  "I  am  sorry,  but  I  must  do  so,  as  it  is  against  the 


27 

rule."  We  said,  "Surely  not  when  there  is  no  one  who  can 
possibly  occupy  it,  it  is  so  hot  we  shall  be  suffocated  if  you  put 
that  down  over  our  heads."  He  said,  "  I  must  do  so."  We 
said,  "  If  you  do  it  will  be  an  iniquity"  We  thought  so  then 
and  we  still  think  so,  although  we  have  since  had  the  advant- 
age of  the  arguments  that  the  Companies  urge,  as  their  reasons 
for  doing  it.  They  are  not  worthy  of  a  liberal  people,  and 
are  in  direct  opposition  to  that  generous  and  enlightened  consider- 
ation which  seems  to  animate  the  American  people,  who  carry 
out  in  every  practical  way  that  noble  principle  of  Bentham, 
namely,  to  give  "the  greatest  happiness  to  the  greatest  number." 
The  present  system  is  that  of  the  "  DOG  IN  THE  MANGER." 
We  were  told  that  there  is.  happily,  one  State  that  ignores  the 
specious  and  self  interested  arguments  of  all  the  other  States, 
and  has  made  a  LAW  that  the  top  berth,  if  not  occupied,  SHALL 
NOT  be  let  down— that  State  is  MISSOURI  ! ! 

OVER  HEATED  CARRIAGES. — The  carriages  are  lofty  and 
well  ventilated,  and  in  the  cold  weather  are  heated  by  means 
of  steam  pipes.  We  should  have  said  over  heated,  for  not 
only  do  the  pipes  go  round  the  sides  of  the  carnage,  but  under 
the  seats  for  the  feet  to  rest  on,  and  sometimes  they  pass  even 
directly  under  the  cushion  of  the  seat  and  half  cook  the  sitter. 
The  heat  is  stifling  and  often  unbearable,  and  the  supply  is  very 
badly  and  injudiciously  regulated.  As  we  were  aliens  we  did 
not  like  to  complain,  not  knowing  at  first  what  the  wishes  of 
our  fellow  travellers  might  be,  but  found  by  experience  that 
they  were  the  same  as  ours,  and  the  ladies  were  always  com- 
plaining of  being  stifled.  Still  the  steam  pipes,  bad  as  they  are, 
are  a  great  improvement  on  the  hot  stoves  used  in  the  days  when 
Dickens  made  his  visit  to  the  States,  and  of  which  he  so  com- 


28 


plained.  Many  a  time  when  the  sun  has  been  beautifully 
shining,  and  the  day  was  fairly  warm,  have  we  had  to  stuff 
our  rug  over  the  pipes  at  our  side  to  prevent  the  fumes  of  the 
heat  rising  up  in  our  faces.  We  should  say  that  over  and  over 
again  the  heat  of  the  carriages  was  verging  close  upon  80°  when 
65°  was  all  that  need  be  desired.  Our  change  of  carriage 
was  much  for  the  worse  ;  if  the  West  Shore  line  was  the  frying 
pan,  we  were  now  (on  the  Mountain  Railway)  in  the  fire.  In 
the  former  we  were  only  knocked  over  when  walking,  but  now 
sitting  did  not  secure  us  an  immunity  from  being  cast  on 
the  floor.  The  sharp  curves,  the  sudden  jolts,  were  terrific, 
and  we  could  only  console  ourselves  with  the  thought  that  the 
train  had  performed  the  journey  safely  hundreds  of  times 
before,  and  it  was  to  be  hoped  that  it  would  do  so  this  time. 
Moral  :  These  by-lines  are  to  be  avoided.  We  travel  quickly 
and  are  rising  rapidly,  now  1500  feet  high,  now  1600  feet  high. 
We  stop  at  Chichester,  which  the  agent  announces  as  "  Chi- 
Chester,"  and  on  we  go  to  our  destination,  a  little  village  up  in 
the  mountains. 

A   COLD  RECEPTION. 

Arrived  at  our  hotel,  a  fair  sized  inn,  we  go  to  the  office, 
register  our  names,  and  ask  if  we  can  have  two  adjoining  bed- 
rooms. The  proprietor  (we  must  call  him  now  the  "boss") 
thinks  awhile,  and  then  turns  over  the  pages  of  a  book,  appar- 
ently without  object,  and  gives  us  no  answer.  It  is  after  eight 
o'clock  and  we  are  hungry. 

Again  we  repeat,   "  Can  we  have  two  bed-rooms?" 
The  Boss  :  "  Well,  I  don't  see  how  that's  to  be,"  and  again 
he  becomes  abstracted,  or  indifferent— which  ? 


29 

We  began  to  think  "  If  this  is  the  sort  of  reception  that  we 
are  to  have  every  time  we  go  into  an  hotel,  and  are  to  be  treated 
so  coolly  the  sooner  we  are  back  in  Old  England  the  better. 
Fully  three  minutes  elapsed,  when,  becoming  perhaps  a  little 
impatient,  we  ventured  to  suggest  that  while  he  was  settling 
the  matter  as  to  rooms  in  his  mind,  we  might  as  well  be  par- 
taking of  supper.  Without  seeming  to  grasp  this  suggestion 
he  began  walking  away.  We  said,  "  Where  are  you  going "? 
He  said,  "To  fix  your  supper  for  you."  "Thank  you,"  we 
said,  and  then  patiencly  seated  ourselves.  In  a  few  minutes 
supper  was  ready  and  ultimately  we  were  accommodated  with 
our  two  rooms,  afterwards  the  "  Boss  "  became  very  civil  and 
attentive.  Let  us  add  that  this  <;  cold  reception  "  was  the  only 
one  we  ever  had. 

SOCIAL  AMENITIES. — We  must  just  add  one  word  of  grate- 
ful remembrance  of  the  Americans  who  were  staying  in  that 
little  hostelry.  Strangers  as  we  were  they  cordially  took  us  into 
their  circle,  and  made  us  feel  quite  at  home  by  their  polite 
attentions  and  little  chats.  These  social  amenities  were  a  nice 
set  off  to  the  previous  capricious  behaviour  of  the  '  boss." 
We  felt  quite  regretful  to  leave  them  all  on  the  Monday,  but 
we  were  not  yet  up  high  enough,  and  we  found  that  the  only 
way  to  send  the  thermometer  down  was  for  us  to  go  up. 

THE  CATSKILLS.—  Monday  afternoon  saw  us  safely  housed 
in  the  enormous  KAATERSKILL  HOTEL  on  the  summit  of  one  of 
the  hills  of  the  Catskill  range,  probably  2000  feet  above  the 
Hudson.  The  thermometer  certainly  had  gone  down,  if  it  was 
only  three  or  four  degrees,  for  the  air  was  perceptibly  cooler, 
we  could  breathe,  and  the  skin  no  longer  oozed  with  that 
enervating  perspiration  that  heat  without  air  produces.  Here 


3° 

at  least  there  was  some  air,  and  life  became  endurable.  They 
make  up,  it  is  said,  1500  beds  in  this  big  house,  and  from  its 
length  and  its  breadth,  and  its  height,  we  can  well  conceive  it. 
There  were  between  700  and  800  people  there  when  we  were, 
about  700  of  them  being  Jews.  There  was  every  kind  of 
amusement  and  a  splendid  band  performed  morning  and  even- 
ing. This  Mammoth  hotel  is  built  of  wood,  and  is  several 
stories  high,  but  as  the  wind  here  during  the  winter  months  is 
very  strong  and  very  violent,  the  edifice  has  to  be  anchored 
by  means  of  several  wire  cables  to  the  rocks  to  prevent  a 
catastrophe. 

A  SUPERB  VIEW. — The  view  from  the  terrace  in  front  of 
the  house  on  the  East  side  is  magnificent.  The  Hudson  valley 
opens  out  at  the  foot  of  the  Catskill  range,  and  blends  itself  . 
miles  away  with  the  haze  of  the  Taghkanic  Mountains.  The 
Hudson  river,  narrow  in  one  part  and  widening  out  in  another, 
flows  peacefully  through  the  centre  of  the  valley,  bearing  on  its 
surface  slow  floating  villages  of  timber,  and  swift  gliding 
steamers.  Hills  some  3000  feet  high  rise  on  the  other  sides, 
well  wooded  to  the  topmost  peak.  It  is  said  that,  even  to  this 
day,  the  big  yellow  wild  cats,  from  which  the  hills  take  their 
name,  are  to  be  found  in  some  of  the  unfrequented  parts  of  the 
mountains.  Ugly  animals  they  must  have  been  to  encounter, 
as  we  inferred  from  two  or  three  stuffed  specimens  in  the  hotel. 
When  pressed  by  hunger  these  cats  would  attack  the  unwary 
hunter  and  devour  him. 

A  PRIMEVAL  FOREST. — We  have  not  space  to  enumerate 
all  the  pleasant  walks  and  places  of  interest  with  which  the 
immediate  district  abounds  A  few  yards  from  the  hotel  you 
can  visit  a  primeval  forest,  where  grand  old  pine  trees,  stricken 


with  age,  have  fallen  to  the  ground  years  ago,  (and  as  the  tree 
falleth  so  it  lieth.)  Who  can  tell  how  long?  So  long  it  is, 
that  they  have  rotted  to  their  very  centre  without  breaking  in 
the  least  degree  their  outward  form,  and  are  so  soft  that  one 
can  push  with  very  slight  effort  one's  stick  clean  through  them 
for  two  feet  or  more.  What  reflections  passed  through  our 
mind  as  we  strolled  amidst  the  living  and  the  dead  !  How 
often  have  these  forest  glades  echoed  to  the  war  whoop  of  the 
ferocious  Indian  and  been  illumined  by  the  blaze  of  his  camp 
fires  !  Alas  !  the  Indian  has  gone,  but  the  glory  of  his  forest 
home  abides,  as  monuments  mark  the  graves  of  warriors.  The 
spirit  of  Fenimore  Cooper  stood  by  our  side  and  pointed  to 
the  surrounding  mountains  and  lakes,  that  he  has  rendered 
classic  by  his  vivid  record  of  heroic  deeds  and  patient  suffer- 
ing borne  by  these  warriors  of  the  tomahawk.  Alas  !  warriors 
no  more,  for  few  races  of  men  on  earth  are  more  pitiable  and 
mean  to  behold  than  the  Red  Indians  of  to-day  ;  at  all  events 
it  was  so  of  those  we  saw. 

INSECT  LIFE, — We  have  no  pretentions  to  a  knowledge  of 
entomology,  yet  he  must  be  a  very  dull  person  who  could  take 
a  stroll  in  the  brilliant  sunshine  of  the  Catskills,  without  being 
struck  with  the  abundance  and  variety  of  insect  life.  Myriads 
of  butterflies  were  displaying  their  gorgeous  wings  in  the  noon- 
day rays,  some  were  yellow,  some  were  blue,  and  here  and 
there  an  enormous  "  tiger "  would  spread  his  dazzling  wings 
before  us.  Some  Mammoth  butterflies  were  nearly  as  big  as 
bats.  Grasshoppers  were  jumping  about  and  singing  in  every 
direction,  especially  upon  the  footpaths,  seemingly  desirous  of 
accompanying  us  in  our  walk,  as  they  would  sometimes  keep 
springing  before  us  three  or  four  yards  at  a  time,  for  twenty 


32 

or  thirty  yards  or  more.  Locusts  of  variegated  hues,  but  prin- 
cipally black  with  white  spots  on  their  wings,  made  themselves 
conspicuous  by  making  a  rattling  noise,  like  a  child's  rattle, 
every  time  they  leaped  and  flew.  The  very  weeds  were  a  novelty 
to  us.  We  looked  in  vain  here  and  everywhere  else  for  our 
vulgar  and  ubiquitous  stinging  nettle.  The  only  specimen  we 
saw  was  one  preserved  in  the  Museum  at  Banff,  (Alberta)  and 
we  were  told  by  two  Englishmen  who  had  lived  in  the  States 
over  30  years,  that  they  had  never  seen  one.  While  at 
Niagara  on  our  second  visit  we  thought  we  had  bagged  our 
hare,  but  on  shewing  our  nettle  to  a  naturalist  he  said  it  was 
no  nettle,  but  "  catnip." 

GENIAL  FRIENDS. — The  pleasure  of  our  stay  at  the  Cat- 
skills  was  greatly  enhanced  by  the  geniality  of,  and  the  kindness 
shewn  to  us  by  a  few  Americans  there.  We  were  the  only  two 
English  people  in  the  house,  and  let  us  here  say  that  we  never 
came  across  an  English  tourist  from  leaving  New  York  to 
arriving  at  Banff  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  a  period  of  six 
weeks,  and  in  the  whole  of  the  four  months  we  were  away,  we 
never  encountered,  on  shore,  a  dozen  of  our  countrymen.  We 
had  been  but  three  days  in  the  country,  and  despite  ourselves 
there  was  a  sense  of  loneliness  and  isolation,  espacially  in  so 
large  a  crowd.  Oar  good  friends  (if  we  may  be  permitted  to 
call  them  so)  Dr.  and  Mrs.  F.,  of  Brooklyn,  and  Mrs.  M.  of 
New  York,  did  all  in  their  power  to  make  us  feel  at  home,  and 
they  succeeded. 

The  American  character  must  have  been  very  much  belied, 
or  have  very  much  changed  since  the  days  of  Dickens  and 
Trollope,  who  gave  us  to  understand  that  the  American  was  a 
taciturn  and  uncommunicative  being,  who  answered  not  when 


33 

spoken  to,  and  treated  the  Englishman  with  sullenness  or  even 
rudeness  ;  since  we  have  proved  for  ourselves  the  utter 
untruthfulness  of  these  suggestions,  it  has  occurred  to  us, 
that  there  may  have  been  something  in  the  manner  or 
tone  of  the  interrogator  that  aroused  the  antipathy  of 
the  interrogated.  We  did  however  once  come  across  a 
rather  dull  porter  at  a  railway  station  who  reminded  us  of  a 
similar  incident  related  by  Trollope.  We  had  obtained  from 
the  porter  a  glass  of  water,  and  said  to  him,  "  Is  this  water 
good?"  He  replied  in  slow,  measured  nasal  accents,  "  Waal 
.  .  .  I  .  .  .  guess  ...  it  ...  is."  We  said,  "the  water  at  H., 
where  we  have  just  come  from,  is  not  good."  He  replied, 
"Waal  ...  I  never  .  .  .  was  there,  so  ...  I  don't  know."  We 
were  rather  amused  than  otherwise  at  his  laconic  replies. 

It  will  hardly  be  expected  that  in  a  rapid  visit  of  some 
four  months  duration,  we  could  very  deeply  gauge  the 
American  character.  But  we  noticed  the  straws  on  the  stream, 
and  they  as  truly  indicated  the  way  the  current  flowed,  as  if  an 
entire  navy  had  been  borne  along  its  course.  It  is  right  also 
to  confess  that,  although  we  were  prepossessed  in  favour  of 
those  kind  Americans,  whose  friendship  we  had  made  in 
Europe,  we  nevertheless  entertained  in  common  with  our 
countrymen,  some  prejudices  against  our  cousins  over  the 
water.  Let  us  state  it  frankly,  that  we  had  made  up  our  mind 
that  it  would  be  attempted  to  victimise  us  at  every  point. 
"  Uncle  Sam  "  had  always  been  delineated  as  a  very  smart, 
cute  specimen  of  humanity,  who  somehow  or  another  got  the 
best  of  every  bargain,  and  rarely  examined  too  closely  the  way 
or  the  means  by  which  he  got  it.  One  or  two  notorious  "  pile 
makers "  had  been  held  up  conspicuously  as  patterns  of  the 


34 

nation.  We  now  see  what  a  gross  libel  this  was  on  the  Ameri- 
can people  at  large,  and  having  humbly  made  our  confession 
for  holding  such  an  opinion,  we  gladly  do  penance  for  it,  and 
endeavour  to  make  atonement  by  recording  that  which  we 
truly  found  the  people  to  be  (especially  in  the  Central  and 
Western  States)  namely,  just  and  equitable  in  all  their  dealings, 
and  ever  kindly  disposed  in  their  actions.  Trollope  said  that 
the  Americans  were  taciturn,  morose,  and  boastful,  and 
Dickens  was  not  over  complimentary  towards  them.  "Jonathan" 
like  the  rest  of  mankind  has  his  faults,  and  perhaps  may  be  a 
little  too  proud  of  the  bigness  and  power  of  his  country, 
although  the  boast  is  founded  on  fact.  We  ought  even  to 
remember  that  "Jonathan"  is  still  very  young,  and  was  much 
younger  50  years  ago.  We  make  no  allusion  to  politics  here, 
better  not,  but  we  should  like  to  put  this  on  record,  that  dur- 
ing our  four  months  sojourn  in  the  States,  we  were  only- 
begged  of  four  times,  we  only  saw  one  drunken  man,  and  one 
street  fight,  and  never  heard  an  oath  all  the  time ;  but  we  never 
had  any  gas-light  experience. 

PATRIOTISM. 

Here  was  a  mighty  nation  built  up  of  fragments,  a  Con- 
federacy of  States,  and  each  State  a  nation  (at  least  in  area 
and  often  in  population.)  It  was  not  until  we  reached 
America  and  crossed  these  States  in  our  travels  that  we 
did,  or  could  realize,  that  each  State  was  a  separate  nation- 
ality. The  peoples  different,  their  manners  different,  their 
laws  different,  yet  everywhere  exemplifying  the  motto  on 
their  banner,  "  e pluribus  unttm."  One  in  heart,  one  in  mind, 
one  in  purpose.  I  should  think  there  is  hardly  another 


35 

nation  on  the  earth  where  patriotism  has  so  strong  a  hold  on 
the  hearts  of  its  people  as  in  America.  I  write  only  from 
an  experience  gained  in  the  Northern  States.  Wherever  you 
go  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  or  the  Golden  Eagle,  are  always  con- 
spicuous. It  is  natural  to  look  for  these  on  every  public 
building  whether  governmental  or  social,  but  in  their  churches 
or  places  of  worship  the  star-bespangled  banner  often  has  its 
resting  place  near  the  pulpit  or  platform.  At  every  public 
school  banners  are  ever  to  be  seen,  and  even  in  the  Kinder- 
garten little  children  of  five  march  each  with  its  tiny  flag  of 
stars  and  stripes.  What  does  all  this  mean  ?  What  does  it 
all  tend  to  ?  It  must  foster  an  early,  deep  and  earnest  affec- 
tion for  that  national  emblem  of  their  unity,  and  fix  in  the 
heart  the  principles  it  embodies.  A  nation's  flag  is  to  a  nation 
what  honour  is  to  a  man. 

A    COSMOPOLITISM 

It  cannot  help  but  strike  one  that  a  people  so  conglomerate 
in  their  composition,  and  having  so  many  different  origins, 
should  be  so  compact  in  the  mass.  But  it  is  in  the  very  nature 
of  conglomerates  to  be  compact.  What  is  harder  and  firmer 
than  concrete  ?  Here  we  have  to  begin  with  a  good  Anglo- 
Saxon  basis,  into  which  has  been  kneaded  the  Scotch,  the 
Irish,  the  German,  the  Scandinavian,  the  Swiss,  the  French, 
the  Italian  and  the  Austrian,  with  a  healthy  infusion  of  strong 
Hebraic  blood  from  all  nationalities.  If  cross  breeding  pro- 
duces strength,  what  bone  and  muscle  there  ought  to  be  here ! 
What  a  mingling  of  thoughts,  habits,  feelings,  religions  and 
politics  there  must  be  in  such  a  mixture  !  Each  man  must  be 
tolerant  towards  his  neighbour.  Thus  at  the  outset  springs  up 
one  great  source  of  unity  in  opposites,  mutual  forbearance. 


36 

LIBERTY  AND  EQUALITY. 

The  next  great  factor  to  consider  is  the  loudly  proclaimed 
Spirit  of  LIBERTY.     The  subject  is  too  wide  even  for  me  to 
enter  upon  ;  but  writing  from  superficial  observation  I  should 
say  that  real,  true  Liberty  is  more  enjoyed  in  America  than  in 
any    other   nation  on   the   earth.      In    France  they   proclaim 
"Liberty,  Equality,  and  Fraternity" — they  paint  it  up  high 
and  low  on  all  their  public  buildings,  and  there  it  remains  an 
idea  ;    but   in    America   although    never   written    and    never 
paraded,   it  is  a  realisation.     While  I  pen   these  lines  I  can 
call  to  mind  a  dozen  instances  to  illustrate  my  assertion.     The 
most  obvious  one  that  must  strike  all  travellers  is,  the  one  class 
on  the  railroads,  the  one  waiting-room  at  the  stations,  the  one 
saloon  on  the  steamers.    The  first  day  you  arrive  in  New  York 
you  are  levelled  down.     Anglo-Saxon  asperities  and  angulari- 
ties have  to  be  chipped  off.     In  the  States  nearly  all  the  public 
buildings  and  offices  are  open  to  the  public,  any  one  may  enter 
and  go  through  without  introduction,  without  permit,  without 
payment,  and  see  all  that  is  shown.     Take  for  instance  the 
Assay  Office  in  New  York,  the  Mint  in   Philadelphia,  and  the 
Treasury  at  Washington  (where  5000  tons  of  gold  and  silver 
are  stored,  the  old  notes  destroyed  and  new  ones  issued) — 
these  are  all  open  to  the  public,  free.    The  better  to  realize  this 
freedom,  this  Liberty  !  picture  to  yourself  "Dick,  Tom  and  Arry" 
presenting  themselves  at  the  Mint  or  the  Bank  of  England  in 
London,  and  expressing  a  desire  to  be  shewn  over.    No  doubt 
they  would  be  politely  informed  that  an  order  was  first  necessary, 
but  at  New  York,  Philadelphia  or  Washington  the  American 
"Dicks,  Toms  and  Arrys"  are  admitted  without  demur— without 


37 

an  order,  or  any  introduction  beyond  their  right  as  American 
citizens.     This   equality  is  very  fully  recognised  among  the 
people  themselves.     Class  distinctions  as  far  as  possible  are 
endeavoured  to  be  obliterated ;  a  servant  is  a  help,  a  shopman 
is  a  clerk,  and  a  shop  a  store.     Further,  this  is  exemplified  by 
their  manner  of  addressing  one  another — thus  one  day  after 
obtaining  my  ticket  at  the  station,  the  ticket-clerk  said,  point- 
ing to  a  porter,  who  from  his   dress  was  evidently  accustomed 
to  very  laborious  work,  "  If  you  will  go  with  that  ' '  gentleman" 
he  will  fix  your  baggage  for  you."      I  emphasise  the   word 
"  gentleman  "  ;  he  was  a  very  good  fellow  and  did  his  work 
efficiently  and  no  doubt  deserved  his  title.      Subsequently  I 
found  that  it  was  the  invariable  practice  among  themselves,  for 
the  labouring  classes  to  refer  to  each  other  as  "gentlemen." 
Another  time  in  the  hotel  one  chambermaid  addressed  the  other 
chambermaid  as  "  Miss,"  so-and-so,  ''will  you  do  this?"    Some 
of  my  English  readers  may  perhaps  smile  at  these  instances  of 
politeness  and  respect  one  towards  another,  but  on  American  soil 
they  mean  something  more  than  they  would  do  to  us.     Those 
of  us  who  have  read  that  marvellous  book  called  "Looking  Back- 
wards '  can  see  in  these  shadows  the  coming  events  that  are  to 
follow.     Why  should  it  be  esteemed  less  honourable  to  make  a 
bed,  or  black  a  pair  of  boots  than  to  write  out  a  prescription — 
to  paint  a  picture,  or  teach  French,  German,  or  music  ?    I  say 
honourable  :    No  doubt  there  is  more  intelligence  required  in 
the  latter  occupation   than   in  the  former,  and  it  is  this  differ- 
ence   in    intelligence   that    makes,    and    ever  will    make,    the 
difference  in  the  lots  of  men.     But  educate  the  bed  maker  and 
the  bootshiner  (as  they  will  do  in  America,  and  that  right  soon) 
and   the   difference   must  and  will  vanish  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree. 


33 
AMERICAN  KINDNESS. 

It  is  not  every  Englishman  on  his  arrival  in  New  York 
who  is  fully  prepared  to  accept  this  equality.  I  had  made  up 
my  mind  beforehand,  and  therefore  I  was  saved  from  the  first 
from  many  little  difficulties  that  might  otherwise  have  arisen, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  I  began  to  discern  the  source 
from  whence  all  this  seeming  familiarity  arose.  IT  COMES 

FROM     THE     KINDNESS     AND     GOOD     TEMPER     OF   THE    PEOPLE. 

I  feel  sure  that  that  is  the  true  spring  of  it  all,  and  that  it  does 
not  arise  from  pride,  conceit,  or  vanity,  or  the  feeling  that,  "  I 
am  quite  as  good  as  you."  Let  me  here  say  that  in  the  four 
months  that  I  was  in  America,  with  just  one  or  two  trifling 
exceptions,  I  met  with  nothing  but  politeness,  civility, 
courtesy  and  kindness  from  every  and  all  classes  of  the  people, 
rich  and  poor  alike,  and  considering  the  thousands  of  miles 
travelled,  and  the  hundreds  of  people  I  came  in  contact  with, 
this  to  me  is  a  very  precious  and  pleasant  record  to  make.  I 
came  to  see  the  people.  I  did  see  the  people.  I  mixed  with 
them  freely ;  I  talked  with  them  constantly,  and  from  begin- 
ning to  end  I  found  them  a  kind  and  warm  hearted  people, 
always  ready  to  give  information,  or  to  obtain  it  for  you  if  not 
within  their  knowledge,  willing  to  oblige  and  do  all  in  their 
power  for  your  comfort  and  convenience. 

A   FRIEND   IN  NEED. 

Let  me  give  a  striking  instance,  it  will  illustrate  my  two- 
points  ;  the  first  as  to  their  kindliness,  and  the  sect  nd  as  to 
maintaining  their  equality.  I  had  hardly  been  in  the  States 
24  hours,  therefore  everything  was  very  new  to  me,  and  in 


39 

some  respects  startlingly  so.  We  had  arrived  at  a  little 
country  hotel.  The  young  man  told  off  to  show  us  our  rooms 
and  bring  up  our  light  baggage  was  a  very  pleasant  and  polite 
person.  I  afterwards  found  that  he  was  studying  medicine  at 
one  of  the  Universities,  and  during  the  vacation  (as  many 
others  do)  took  service  at  an  hotel.  (At  Chautauqua  I  sup- 
pose there  would  be  30  or  40  students  there,  doing  service  as 
waiters.)  I  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  my  watch  key,  the 
young  man  promptly  gave  me  one  of  his.  The  new  key  did 
not  work  well,  and  the  main  spring  of  my  watch  broke.  My 
new  found  friend  on  learning  this  mishap  at  once  preferred  to 
me  his  gold  watch,  and  nothing  would  suit  him  but  that  I 
must  wear  it  while  the  other  was  being  repaired  ;  he  informed 
me  he  had  another,  so  I  reluctantly  assented  to  his  proposal. 
When  I  left  the  hotel  I  felt  that  I  could  not  offer  my  friend  a 
gratuity,  so  I  begged  his  acceptance  of  some  bundles  of 
cigarettes,  but  nothing  that  I  could  say  would  induce  him  to 
have  even  them.  He  said  to  me,  "  You  are  kind  enough  to 
express  your  approval  of  what  I  have  done,  and  that  is  all  I 
desire.  I  have  been  very  pleased  to  do  what  I  have  done." 
I  was  sensibly  touched  with  his  nice  expressions,  and  exchang- 
ing cards  and  shaking  hands  we  parted  as  friends.  I  have 
always  pleasantly  thought  of  this  little  episode,  and  have  now 
great  pleasure  in  recording  it  as  the  first  of  my  many  American 
amenities. 

SERVICE  DOES  NOT  DEGRADE. 

I  am  sure  that  my  English  readers  will  be  surprised  at  the 
recital  of  my  next  experience  of  American  service.  This 
occurred  on  the  "  Soo  Pacific."  We  were  the  only  occupants 
of  the  Pullman  Parlour  Car.  The  porter  of  the  car  was  as 


40 

usual  a  coloured  man.  There  are  in  charge  of  each  Parlour 
Car  a  conductor  and  a  porter.  On  this  occasion  I  suppose 
owing  to  the  limited  number  of  the  passengers  on  that  day,  we 
had  no  conductor,  but  only  a  porter.  He  was  a  very  slightly 
coloured  man,  so  slightly  so  that  one  of  our  party  took  him  for  a 
white  man.  He  was  a  very  sensible  and  intelligent  man,  and 
we  were  struck  with  his  politeness  and  kind  attention  to  us. 
We  had  many  little  chats,  and  in  one  of  them  he  told  me  that 
he  was  a  BARRISTER  ;  that  he  had  been  articled  for  four  years 
to  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  in  Minneapolis,  and  that  he  was 
entitled  to  plead  in  the  Courts,  but  that  his  health  was  bad,  and 
for  a  time  he  had  to  give  up  his  profession  and  act  as  porter 
on  the  railroad  for  a  living.  This  is  another  illustration  of  the 
American  principle  that  service  does  not  degrade.  This  porter 
really  was  a  bed  maker,  for  our  parlour  car  was  a  "  Sleeper,'* 
or  sleeping  car ;  a  parlour  by  day  and  a  bed-room  by  night,  and 
it  was  the  principal  part  of  his  duty  to  "fix"  up  the  berths  at  night. 
This  was  the  second  lesson  I  had  to  take  to  heart  and  meditate 
upon.  I  found  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  mind  was  very  full  of 
prejudice,  and  that  in  our  little  island  "Caste"  was  nearly 
as  predominant  as  among  the  Brahmins  of  India.  It  is 
impossible  to  conceive  of  a  barrister  in  England  being  a  parlour 
car  porter,  unless  he  was  an  old  broken  down  one  and  reduced 
to  abject  penury,  and  want,  and  had  to  take  to  this  to  save 
himself  from  the  workhouse,  abandoning  thereby  all  hope  of 
ever  resuming  his  profession.  But  here  was  a  young  man,  say 
of  eight  and  twenty,  taking  a  menial  position  without  apparent 
loss,  and  able  when  strong  to  take  up  his  profession  again. 
What  a  great  lesson  we  may  learn  from  this. 


THE   WORKING  CLASSES. 

Wages  are  high  in  America.  First-class  workmen  receive 
five  dollars  a  day,  inferior  men  three  and  two  dollars  a  day. 
Against  this,  clothing  and  house  rent  are  dear,  but  food  is 
cheap.  The  position  of  a  working  man  is  better  in  the  States 
than  it  is  in  England.  There  is  a  great  difference  between  the 
native  born  American  and  the  foreigner,  for  it  takes  time  to 
develope  the  American  character,  and  the  true  type  will  not 
appear  till  the  second  generation.  Let  me  give  two  examples 
to  explain  my  meaning.  One  case  is  that  of  a  chambermaid, 
who,  especially  when  bedecked  in  her  broad-sleeved  silk  gown, 
was  always  flouncing  in  to  our  room,  Cthis  is  a  very  unusal 
thing.)  She  was  the  only  rude  woman  we  met  with.  I  regret 
to  say  that  she  had  recently  arrived  from  England.  The 
eagle's  feathers  did  not  suit  the  barn  door  fowl.  The  other 
was  a  genuine  American  ;  he  was  in  charge  of  a  horse  and  cart, 
loading  it.  Many  parcels  were  carefully  stowed  in  the  cart. 
His  horse,  to  avoid  the  playful  antics  of  another  horse,  backed 
and  threw  the  parcels  down.  One  of  course  expected  a  volley 
of  "  Billingsgate,"  but  all  he  did,  was  just  to  look  at  his  horse, 
and  then  at  his  parcels,  and  go  on  quietly  building  them  up 
again.  Surely  this  was  a  manifestation  of  good  temper. 

The  "profession"  of  a  barber  seems  to  me  to  be  the  most  lucra- 
tive of  all  callings,  because  for  simply  getting  one's  hair  and  beard 
cut  one  has  to  pay  from  35  to  40  cents, or  about  is.  8d.  each  time, 
as  against  our  12  or  18  cents.  There  are  thousands  of  barbers 
in  New  York  and  barbers  abound  everywhere  in  the  country 
towns.  Each  hotel  has  its  "barber  shop,"  and  as  the  generality 
of  the  citv  young  men  are  clean  shaven  there  must  be  a  good  deal 
of  daily  work  in  this  department  alone,  and  as  each  man  pays  10 


42 

or  15  cents  for  a  shave,  or  50!.  or  ;d.  as  against  our  6  or  8 
cents,  the  income  derived  from  this  source  must  be  consider- 
able. There  is  great  rivalry  and  competition,  yet  these  excessive 
prices  are  maintained.  One  would  have  thought  that  from 
the  number  of  the  barbers  they  would  (figuratively  at  least)  in 
the  way  of  business,  have  cut  each  other's  throats.  Let  us  take 
another  instance,  the  "  Shoeblack."  Here  there  is  nothing 
under  10  cents  or  5d.  a  "shine"  as  against  our  2  or  4  cents. 
The  art  and  mystery  of  blacking  shoes  is  not  very  profound, 
and  the  capital  required  for  stock-in-trade  is  but  little,  and  the 
number  of  unemployed  labourers  in  the  market  is  great.  How 
is  it  then  that  these  extravagant  prices  can  be  maintained  ? 
There  must  be  some  occult  cause  that  regulates  prices  utterly 
beyond  supply  and  demand.  One  result  of  these  high  charges, 
based  on  the  principle  that  "high  prices  limit  sales "  is  that 
not  many  boots  are  blacked.  The  Americans  find  out  how 
many  days  it  is  possible  to  wear  a  well  blacked  pair  of  boots, 
and  many  (especially  ladies)  even  black  their  own.  Men  wear 
patent  leather  boots  and  brown  tanned  shoes,  and  thus  the 
demand  in  the  market*  is  limited,  notwithstanding  all  which 
prices  are  maintained.  Let  me  just  refer  to  another  monoply, 
for  practically  these  may  be  so  called.  Cabs,  or  as  they  call 
them,  "  Hacks,"  are  very  costly  in  America,  especially  in  New 
York.  The  shortest  drive  there,  is  6s.  against  our  25  cents  in 
London  for  two  miles.  If  one  goes  out  to  dine,  cab-hire  there 
and  back  at  the  least,  even  in  a  hansom  cab,  is  3  dollars  or 
i  as. ;  if  in  a  carriage  4  dollars,  against  our  50  cents  or  T  dollar. 

AMERICAN  POLITENESS 

After  this  digression  let  us  return  to  the  consideration  of 
the  geniality  of  the  American  disposition.  I  was  describing 
them  to  a  "Sister,"  an  English  girl  in  one  of  the  wards  of  a 


43 

New  York  hospital,  as  a  very  kind  hearted  people.  She  at 
once  replied,  "  Yes,  they  are  very  good  tempered,"  and  she, 
under  very  painful  and  trying  circumstances,  must  have  had 
many  opportunities  of  arriving  at  her  conclusion.  One  often 
had  occasion  -in  visiting  various  cities  to  ask  a  policeman  the 
way  to  such  a  place,  the  reply  was  always  ready  and  cheerful, 
with  probably  some  more  information  added  which  the  police- 
man might  think  useful  to  one.  I  remember  being  in  Butte 
City,  I  had  occasion  to  ask  a  policeman  the  way  to  the  mines 
there.  He  gave  me  the  required  information  and  then  we  got 
into  conversation.  He  no  doubt  saw  at  once  that  I  was  a 
"tender  foot,"  as  they  call  all  strangers  in  Butte  City,  and  began 
to  tell  me  various  little  matters  of  interest  concerning  the  place. 
He  was  a  Swede.  Suddenly  he  asked  me  my  name,  which  I 
at  once  gave  him,  and  he  said  my  name  is  so-and-so,  and  then 
offered  me  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  and  after  a  hearty 
shake  of  the  hand  and  thanking  him  for  his  information  we 
parted.  Here  is  another  instance  of  that  unobtrusive  assertion 
of  equality  to  which  I  have  referred.  The  act  was  a  simply 
spontaneous  one,  and  I  feel  sure  the  motive  came  straight  from 
his  heart. 

MIXED   SCHOOLS. 

So  many  instances  of  this  kind-heartedness  of  the  Americans 
rise  up  before  me  as  my  pen  glides  over  the  paper  that  I  am 
afraid  to  note  them  lest  I  may  weary  the  patience  of  my 
readers,  there  are  however  two  further  instances  that  I  must 
refer  to,  they  both  relate  to  the  same  subject,  the  great  defer- 
ence of  the  men  to  women.  It  is  more  than  politeness,  it  is 
respect  and  consideration,  and  here  they  show  their  true 


44 

manliness.  This  deference  is  perhaps  the  more  to  be  wondered 
at  when  one  remembers  the  fact  that  in  America  boys  and 
girls  are  educated  and  taught  together,  not  only  in  the  same 
schools,  but  in  the  same  classes  ;  boys  and  girls  being  mingled 
together  and  seated  in  the  class-room  side  by  side.  I  must 
confess  that  it  was  only  six  months  before  I  went  to  America 
that  I  had  first  heard  of  this  arrangement,  and  certainly  not 
without  some  astonishment,  and  probably  many  of  my  English 
readers  may  share  to  some  extent  with  me  in  my  surprise.  Let 
it  be  noted  that  I  do  not  refer  to  little  children's  schools,  but  to 
schools  where  young  lads  of  15,  i6and  17  mix  indiscriminately 
with  young  maidens  of  the  same  age,  and  with  perfect  decorum 
and  propriety.  This  matter  has  given  me  much  to  ponder 
over.  We  have  an  old  adage,  "  Too  much  familiarity 
breeds  contempt."  On  the  contrary  here  ;  it  seems  to  breed 
a  chivalrous  feeling  and  deepen  respect.  America  is  after  all 
a  very  strange  land,  and  there  ire  some  curious  problems  being 
worked  out  in  it,  and  this  school  problem  is  one  of  them,  but 
the  solution  of  this  seems  in  a  great  measure  to  have  been 
arrived  at,  and  that  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner,  so  I  am  told 
on  all  hands,  and  so  my  own  observation  leads  me  to  believe. 
At  all  events  American  men,  as  we  shall  see,  make  model 
husbands. 

TRAM   CAR    CIVILITIES. 

Nothing  will  so  well  illustrate  the  theory  of  American 
politeness  as  an  example.  Let  us  enter  a  New  York,  Boston, 
or  St.  Louis  street  tram  car,  crammed  full  of  passengers, 
every  seat  occupied.  Enter  a  lady,  by  no  means  young, 
but  middle-aged,  on  the  instant  one  or  two  seats  are 


45 

vacant,  the  ideal  deference  has  crystalized]  into  polite  action, 
the  lady  is  seated  and  one  man  the  more  stands.  Let  me  now 
speak  for  myself,  I  am  no  longer  young,  I  shall  never  see  60 
again.  I  enter  another  like  crammed  street-car;  invariably 
one  or  two  younger  men  are  up  at  once  and  offer  me  their  seats, 
I  protest,  but  they  prevail.  I  wish  that  these  lines  may  be 
read  by  some  of  those  polite  youths,  so  that  I  may  thus  have 
the  opportunity  of  metaphorically  taking  off  my  hat  to  them, 
and  thanking  them  (and  all  such)  for  their  considerate  politeness. 
In  the  hotel  elevators  the  same  courtesy  prevails.  Let  there 
be  half-a-dozen  hatted  men  in  the  cage — enter  a  lady,  the 
un uttered  cry  all  round  is  "  hats  off,"  and  all  give  way  to  let 
her  make  her  exit  first. 

MODEL   HUSBANDS. 

And  now  I  come  to  the  finale  of  these  observations. 
I  believe  from  my  own  knowledge  and  from  the  testimony 
of  many,  that  the  American  husband  is  the  model  husband 
of  the  world.  Let  us  focus  a  picture  on  the  screen.  The 
scene  appears  sylvan,  with  a  lake  and  miniature  bridge, 
we  recognise  it  at  once.  It  is  Lincoln  Park,  Chicago  ;  tem- 
perature 80°  in  the  shade.  Time,  the  first  week  in  August. 
A  Sunday  afternoon — enter  father,  mother  and  three  children, 
one  of  them  in  a  perambulator.  Who  wheels  the  perambulator? 
Perambulator  disappears,  father  pushing  it,  and  mother  quietly 
strolling  behind  with  two  children  At  the  left  appears  another 
family  group,  a  little  fellow  of  two  is  tired,  and  is  being  carried. 
The  mother  is  fanning  herself — but  who  carries  the  child  ? 
Father  smiles  as  the  little  one  puts  his  arms  round  his  neck 
and  gives  his  cheek  a  loving  kiss.  How  many  kisses  do 


English  fathers  lose  by  letting  the  mother  do  all  the  drudgery 
both  indoors  and  out !  Dr.  Mclntyre,  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  Denver,  (he  being  originally  a  Scotchman)  is 
responsible  for  my  assertion,  that  the  American  husband  is  the 
best  husband  in  the  world.  I  heard  him  preach ;  subject, 
"The  Model  Husband."  He  told  us  a  story  apropos  to  this 
subject,  that  when  he  was  over  in  Scotland  lately,  his  cousin, 
a  woman,  went  out  with  him  one  hot  summer's  afternoon, 
weltering  under  the  burden  of  a  heavy  child  in  her  arms. 
Good  American  as  he  was,  and  accustomed  to  hold  the  baby, 
he  offered  to  carry  it,  saying,  "If  I  was  in  America  and  did 
not  offer  to  help  you  they  would  cry  shame  on  me,"  and  she 
said,  "  If  I  was  to  let  you  carry  it,  all  the  women  in  our  village 
would  cry  shame  on  me."  May  not  the  New  World  teach 
the  Old  Country  something  in  these  matters  ! 

DOMESTIC. 

HOUSES. — The  general  appearance  of  country  houses  in 
America  is  much  more  Continental  than  English.  We  were 
quite  surprised  to  find  this  so.  In  some  places  the  poorer 
class  of  cottages  resemble  Swiss  chalets,  but  the  great  majority 
of  the  houses  are  more  like  Norwegian  houses,  being  built  of 
wood  and  painted  in  bright  light  colours.  In  the  towns  the 
houses  are  neither  English  nor  Continental  in  appearance, 
but  are  strictly  American,  inclining  towards  English.  They 
are  somewhat  formal  and  severe  in  their  general  outline,  but 
exquisitely  neat  in  finish  in  all  their  details.  Sometimes  how- 
ever they  are  greatly  disfigured  by  the  fire  escape  iron  staircases 
outside  the  front  of  the  buildings.  We  think  our  English 
architects  might  profit  by  a  visit  to  the  States  to  inspect  their 


47 

domestic  architecture,  notably  in  New  York,  Newport,  and 
St.  Louis,  which  latter  places  possess  in  our  humble  judgment 
the  finest  examples  of  private  mansions  that  we  have  seen  any- 
where, rivalling  even  the  palatial  residences  of  some  of  our 
nobility  in  London.  The  houses  in  the  States  if  not  built  of 
stone,  are  principally  built  of  red  brick. 

INTERIORS. — The  interiors  of  the  half  dozen  private  houses 
we  were  privileged  to  enter  were  all  furnished  and  arranged 
much  more  in  Continental  style  than  English,  and  sometimes 
the  walls  and  ceilings  were  quite  Italian  with  their  gay  paper- 
ings.  The  floors  of  the  reception  rooms  had  varnished  sides, 
and  large  rugs  or  carpets  for  the  centre.  The  staircase  was 
invariably  carpeted  the  whole  width.  There  were  open  English 
fire-places,  but  as  a  rule  the  house  is  warmed  by  pipes,  and 
thus  it  becomes  a  fashion  in  America  of  leaving  the  sitting- 
room  doors  wide  open  so  as  to  admit  the  warm  air  from  the  hall. 
A  great  deal  of  the  lighter  work  of  the  household  is  frequently 
performed  by  the  ladies  of  the  house,  and  thus  the  servants  are 
are  not  unfitly  called  "helps."  The  Americans  are  very  early 
risers  ;  generally  the  hour  for  breakfast  is  half- past  seven 
o'clock,  and  as  they  go  '•  early  to  bed,"  all  the  other  beneficial 
contingencies  seem  to  follow  the  old  adage.  In  many  ot  the 
houses  and  hotels  window  sash  cords  are  not  used,  and  very 
disagreeable  methods  are  provided  for  keeping  up  the  windows. 
The  bedsteads  are  all  made  of  wood  and  very  plain,  having 
only  a  headboard  about  four  feet  high,  and  a  footboard  about 
two  feet.  They  never  have  curtains  to  the  beds.  The  people 
seem  to  be  haunted  with  the  fear  of  fire,  and  the  iron  ladders, 
escape  ropes,  red  lamps  burning  on  the  landings,  and  other 
inventions  provided  in  the  hotels  for  aiding  the  guests  to  escape 


48 

in  case  of  fire,  are  enough  to  cause  a  panic  in  the  mind  of  the 
traveller  and  prevent  sleep,  but  one  sleeps  all  the  same,  even 
if  the  way  of  escape  is  through  your  bedroom,  as  was  the  case 
with  us  at  Philadelphia.  Buckets  of  water  and  fire  hose  are 
on  every  landing,  and  a  night  watchman  is  constantly  going 
round. 

ELECTRIC  FIRE  ALARM  BELL. — We  should  like  to  refer  to 
a  very  ingenious  Electric  Fire  Alarm  Bell.  We  saw  it  on  one 
of  the  magnificent  Fall  River  steamers.  There  are  several 
hundred  state  rooms  on  those  boats,  sometimes  they  sleep  as 
many  as  2000.  In  every  state  room  there  is  a  button  for 
ringing  an  alarm  bell.  This  button  acts  automatically  ;  it  has 
a  strong  spring  attached  to  it,  the  button  is  pulled  out  and  fixed 
in  position  by  wax,  so  that  the  spring  cannot  pull  it  back,  when 
the  spring  does  pull  it  back  the  alarm  bell  rings.  Now  let  us 
suppose  that  in  any  one  of  these  state  rooms  a  fire  should 
-occur  in  the  absence  of  the  occupant,  the  heat  would  soon 
reach  150°,  and  immediately  that  occurred  the  wax  would 
melt  and  let  go  the  spring,  and  the  alarm  bell  would  ring, 
giving  the  number  of  the  state  room,  and  the  bell  would  con- 
tinue ringing  till  someone  stopped  it,  the  watchman  would  be 
on  the  spot  instantly. 

ROADS. — The  roads  and  streets  as  a  rule  in  America  are 
bad,  and  this  observation  applies  equally  to  Canada.  In  some 
of  the  larger  cities  the  principal  streets  are  fairly  well  paved  or 
asphalted,  but  the  side  streets  and  footpaths  are  anything  but 
creditable  to  them.  In  the  country  districts  wood  is  much 
employed  not  only  for  the  footpaths,  but  for  planking  the 
carriage  roads.  Even  in  large  towns  in  the  suburban  streets 
planks  are  laid  for  footpaths.  This  practice  prevails  more  in 


49 

Canada  even  than  in  the  States.  In  a  country  so  vast,  with  the 
great  towns  so  far  apart  from  each  other,  one  can  well  under- 
stand why  the  roads  are  not  so  good  as  in  places  more  circum-  ' 
scribed.  Brigham  Young  when  he  laid  out  the  noble  and 
spacious  streets  of  Salt  Lake  City  had  an  eye  to  the  imposing 
and  effective,  but  he  probably  never  contemplated  what  it 
would  cost  to  keep  the  wide  roads  in  working  order,  his 
successors  no  doubt  have  had  to  face  that  difficulty,  but  it 
appears  to  have  been  too  much  for  them,  and  the  roads  seem 
to  be  left  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Athens  and  Constanti- 
nople have  the  worst  streets  and  roads  that  we  have  ever 
travelled  on,  and  after  them  we  yield  the  palm  to  America. 

A  BUGGY. — The  domestic  carriage  of  the  Americans  (in  the 
country  and  country  towns  at  all  events)  is  the  "  buggy,"  a  light 
vehicle  with  two  seats  in  a  body,  like  a  long  box  painted  a  dark 
colour  and  varnished,  on  four  slim,  high  wheels,  the  front  wheels 
nearly  as  high  as  the  back,  and  drawn  generally  by  one  horse. 
A  buggy  is  very  difficult  to  turn,  we  do  not  mean  to  turn  over,  we 
should  think  that  is  easily  done,  but  to  turn  a  corner,  as  the 
front  wheels  do  not  go  under  the  body  of  the  carriage,  and  in 
turning  it  is  often  necessary  to  back  in  the  contrary  direction 
in  order  to  weather  the  point.  Some  have  flat  covers  to  shield 
the  occupants  from  the  sun,  fixed  to  iron  rods  at  each  corner 
of  the  body  of  the  carriage.  Some  are  drawn  by  two  horses. 
They  are  very  light,  and  we  think  very  fragile  and  very  unsafe, 
and  often  when  they  turn  the  front  wheel  grates  discordantly 
on  a  piece  of  iron  fixed  on  the  body  of  the  carriage  to  prevent 
the  wheel  wearing  it  away.  In  the  cities  the  carriages  are 
much  the  same  as  in  Europe,  save  that  the  closed  carriages, 
especially  the  broughams,  are  a  little  stiffer  and  more  antiquated 


5° 

in  form,  and  have  the  doors  made  much  longer  and  the  win- 
dows much  smaller  than  we  have.  We  saw  a  fashionable  lady 
in  New  York  driving  a  phaeton  with  three  horses,  "  en  troika? 
that  is  to  say  abreast,  and  two  other  fashionable  demoiselles 
riding  in  a  beautiful  hansom  drawn  by  two  horses  abreast,  also 
a  lady  riding  in  the  park,  like  the  Indian  women  ride,  that  is 
a  V  amazone. 

COACHMEN. — The  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  drivers 
of  carriages  and  other  vehicles  are  well  considered.  We 
remarked  that  on  many  private  carriages  (probably  doctors' 
broughams,  where  the  drivers  have  to  remain  for  long  periods 
exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  the  violence  of  the  weather) 
there  was  a  canopy  extended  over  the  head  of  the  driver, 
(being  a  prolongation  of  the  roof  of  the  carriage)  to  protect 
him  from  sun  and  rain.  We  also  noticed  in  many  other 
vehicles,  when  it  was  raining,  that  the  apron  reached  very 
nearly  up  to  the  driver's  neck,  thus  completely  protecting  the 
body  and  arms.  The  difficulty  as  to  holding  the  reins  was  got 
over  by  passing  them  through  a  convenient  slit  in  the  apron, 
to  the  hands  of  the  driver. — verb  sap. 

SHOPS  or  STORES. — London,  Paris  and  Vienna  cannot  vie 
with  the  magnificent  magazines  of  New  York  for  size  and 
accommodation,  and  the  latter  may  contest  with  either  of  the 
former  as  to  the  richness  and  costly  nature  of  the  goods 
displayed.  Whatever  wealth  can  obtain,  is  to  be  found  in  New 
York.  Unsophisticated  as  we  are  in  matters  relating  to  fashion, 
it  seemed  to  us  from  the  gay  and  graceful  costumes  of  the 
ladies  as  seen  in  Broadway,  Fifth  Avenue,  and  Twenty-third 
Street,  that  New  York  instead  of  receiving  her  fashions  from 
Paris  ought  to  transmit  hers  to  Europe.  The  ladies  of  New 


York  appeared  more  stylish  than  those  of  Regent  Street; 
perhaps  climate  has  something  to  do  with  this,  as  the  former 
can  wear  lighter,  brighter  and  more  elegant  costumes  than  the 
latter,  who  have  all  sorts  of  bad  weather  to  contend  with. 
One  who  accompanied  us,  and  is  a  far  better  judge  in  these 
matters  than  we  are,  concurs  in  these  remarks. 

And  now  I  must  leave  that  which,  to  me,  has  been  a 
great  source  of  pleasure.  I  know  I  have  not  told  the  half, 
but  I  am  afraid  on  the  one  hand  of  wearying  my  reader, 
and  on  the  other  of  appearing  to  over  rate  or  over  praise  these 
special  phases  of  American  character.  I  felt  that  I  must  at 
least  write  what  little  I  have  written,  first,  to  give  vent  to  the 
many  emotions  that  have  filled  my  heart  and  made  it  beat 
with  gratitude  towards  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  during 
my,  alas  !  too  short  sojourn  in  America,  and  secondly,  that 
this  unbiassed  expression  of  an  Englisman's  views  of  American 
character,  may  dissipate  many  false  impressions  that  have  been 
imbibed  by  the  English  public  from  reading  books,  written  no 
doubt  with  good  and  honest  intentions,  but  under  insular  pre- 
judices and  preconceived  ideis  of  superiority,  and  without  due 
allowance  being  made  for  all  the  circumstances  that  environ 
and  surround  the  American  citizen. 


KAATERSKILL  CLOVE.  —A  clove  is  a  cleft  in  a  mountain, 
in  other  words  it  is  a  valley  or  ravine,  which  has  been  cloven 
in  a  mountain  side  or  between  the  mountains.  The  Kaater- 
skill  Clove  is  a  very  picturesque  and  magnificent  ravine.  It  is 
probably  six  or  eight  times  as  deep  and  wide,  as  the  beauti- 
ful Pass  of  Killicrankie  in  Scotland.  It  is  very  grand.  The 


52 

drive  down  from  the  hotel,  through  this  beautifully  wooded  and 
in  parts  precipitous  valley,  is  a  series  of  delights,  and  was 
unique  among  the  many  sights  we  saw  in  America.  We 
reached  Pallensville  (at  the  foot)  safely,  after  many  jolts  and 
scrapings  of  the  wheels  of  the  buggy  on  the  body  of  the 
carriage  in  turning  the  very  sharp  corners,  and  took  train  to 

the  Hudson,  which  we  crossed,  and  then  took  rail  to 
i 

LEBANON  SPRINGS,  a  charming  little  town  most  picturesquely 

situated  at  the  foot  of  the  Berkshire  Hills.  We  stayed  at  a  very 
comfortable  hotel,  there  was  dancing  in  the  evening,  the  three 
musicians  being  ladies.  We  saw  the  spring  with  its  deep 
crystal  pool  bubbling  up  at  a  temperature  of  73*  winter  and 
summer  alike.  It  was  from  here  we  made  our  visit  to  the 
Shakers  at  Lebanon.  The  weather  was  still  very  sultry  and 
the  next  morning  we  had  another  terrific  thunder  storm.  We 
took  rail,  and  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  reached 
Saratoga. 


RELIGIOUS    ASPECTS. 


TOLERATION. 

?N  the  day  that  we  left  Washington  we  were  somewhat 
astonished  by  hearing  the  Hall  Porter,  (a  coloured  man) 
who  was  whisking  us  down  shortly  before  our  departure  from 
the  hotel,  say,  "  Waal  Saar,  are  you  going  to  leave  our  Godless 
country  ?  "  We  had  certainly  not  thought  that  the  Americans 
were  a  " godless"  people,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  in 
many  places  stores  were  open  on  the  Sunday,  and  businesses 
of  various  kinds  engaged  in  on  that  day.  People  seemed  to 
take  their  pleasure  much  the  same  on  the  first  day  of  the  week 
as  on  any  other  day, — dancing,  music  and  singing  were  enjoyed 
and  festive  parties  were  made  up  either  for  outdoor  excursions 
or  indoor  recreation.  Public  conveyances,  steamers  and  trains 
ran  much  the  same  on  Sundays  as  other  days,  and  newspapers 
were  printed  and  read  as  usual.  So  that  although  we  could 
not  say  that  the  Americans  were  very  strict  Sabbatarians,  yet 
we  were  far  from  thinking  them  "  godless."  They  abound  in 
Churches  (and  there  all  places  of  worship  are  Churches) ;  they 
have  large  and  sometimes  overflowing  congregations,  cultured 
.and  eloquent  preachers,  and  highly  trained  and  large  choirs, 
supplemented  by  instruments.  The  congregations  were  rever- 
ent in  their  bearing,  excepting  when  a  minister  would 
occasionally  raise  a  laugh  at  one  of  his  smart  sayings,  or  the  use 
•  of  a  popular  slang  term.  One  perhaps  might  have  expected, 


54 

considering  their  Puritanical  descent,  that  they  should  have 
appeared  a  little  more  sedate,  but  of  this  we  feel  certain  that 
to  all  the  proprieties  and  sanctities  of  life  they  are  as  keenly 
alive  as  their  English  brethren,  and  from  general  report  we 
believe  they  excel  them  in  many  respects.  In  charities  they 
are  munificent,  and  in  the  larger  cities  each  denomination  sup- 
ports its  own  hospital,  although  its  doors  are  open  to  all 
sufferers  without  distinction  of  creed.  Their  Church  architec- 
ture is  very  fine,  and  some  of  their  most  recently  built  Churches 
would  vie  with  and  probably  surpass  the  more  modern 
Churches  and  Chapels  in  England.  They  are  liberal  to  excess 
to  their  Ministers,  and  their  Sunday  Schools  might  be  taken  as 
models  for  some  of  ours.  Religious  literature  is  abundant  in 
the  States,  and  some  of  their  publishing  establishments,  such 
as  the  Methodist  Book  Concern  and  others,  are  examples  to 
the  world. 

A  NEW  WAY  TO  PAY  OLD  DEBTS. — We  describe  the  follow- 
ing incident  which  occurred  in  a  Dissenting  Church  one  Sunday 
morning  during  the  service,  to  show  how  in  some  respects  the 
Americans  differ  from  us  in  matters  relating  to  worship.  The 
Minister  informed  the  congregation  that  owing  to  some  repairs 
which  had  been  recently  done,  the  trustees  had  incurred  a  debt 
of  50  dollars,  and  he  hoped  that  that  morning  the  people 
would  pay  it  off.  They  only  wanted  50  subscribers,  16  at  2 
dollars,  10  at  i  dollar,  10  at  half  a  dollar,  and  (that  all  might 
contribute)  12  at  a  quarter  of  a  dollar.  He  then  put  up  the 
2  dollar  subscriptions  and  obtained  readily  about  10  sub- 
scribers, then  he  took  upon  himself  to  put  down  Mi.  A.  and 
Mr.  B.  who  were  absent,  for  2  dollars  each,  that  made  12 
subscribers.  "  New,"  he  said,  "we  only  want  four  more.  Mr,. 


55 

C.,  may  I  put  you  down? — thank  you.     Now  Mr.  D. — thank 
you.     Two  are  yet  left — Mr.  E.,  you  would  not  like  to  be  left 
out ;  and  I  see  Miss  F.  is  desirous  to  subscribe. — thank  you. 
Now  we  will  go  to  the  one  dollar,  and  I  shall  expect  the  offers 
to  be  more  rapid."     We  quietly  slipped  a  dollar  into  the  hand 
of  a  collector,  and  said,  say   "from  a  visitor."     When  it  was 
handed  in  to  the  Minister  he  said,  "  We  are  always  glad  to 
welcome  visitors,  especially  when   they  bring  their  dollars." 
The  remaining  amounts  were  soon  collected,  and  the  debt  was 
thus  cleared  off.     We  did  not  ascertain  whether  this  was  the 
customary  manner  of  paying  off  debts,  or  only  a  special  spas- 
modic effort,  at  any  rate  it  was   effectual.      We    could    not 
however   commend   its  adoption   in    English   churches,   as  it 
violates  flagrantly  that  divine  precept  of  not  letting  "  thy  left 
hand  know  what  thy  right  hand  doeth  "  in  the  matter  of  alms, 
which  are  not  to  be  done  "  before  men."     We  are  afraid  that 
in  this  way  many  alms  are  given  by  compulsion  on  account  of 
the  stress  of  "public  opinion,"  thereby   robbing  the  giver  of 
much  blessing,  for  "  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver"     The  next 
day  we  journeyed  in  the  train  for  many  hours  with  the  same 
Minister  and  his  wife,  and  found  him  to  be  a  cultured,  genial 
and  pleasant  companion,  and  his  wife  one  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  vivacious  women  we  had  met  with  in  the  States,  and 
that  is  saying  a  great  deal  where  all  are  so  highly  educated. 

DOUBTS.— i  Cor.  xiv.  8. 

May  we  be  permitted  to  bear  our  humble  testimony  to  the 
faithful  manner  in  which  the  Ministry  in  America  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  and  Presbyterian  Churches  uphold  the 
Orthodox  faith.  We  do  not  remember  ever  to  have  heard  an 


56 

"  uncertain  sound  "  from  any  pulpit.  They  ignore  Agnosticism 
and  the  higher  criticism,  at  least  in  the  pulpit.  No  doubt 
they  believe  that  a  series  of  sermons,  "  On  what  the  Jews  or 
Scientists  think  of  the  Christian  religion,"  would  not  tend  to 
establish  Christian  faith,  especially  in  the  younger  members  of 
the  congregation.  No  man  would  set  about  teaching  children 
pure  English  by  giving  them  to  learn  by  heart  all  the  common 
and  vulgar  errors,  if  it  was  only  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding 
them.  He  would  fail  in  his  task,  who  sought  to  establish 
purity  in  the  soul,  if  he  referred  indirectly  to  the  impure. 
Would  one  teach  a  child  to  honour  its  father  and  mother  by 
repeating  to  it  the  tittle-tattle  of  their  neighbours  concerning 
them.  Many  a  doubt  has  for  the  first  time  been  injected  into 
the  heart  of  God's  true  children  from  the  pulpit.  If  a  man 
does  not  believe  what  he  preaches,  he  is  a  despicable  creature 
and  ought  to  come  down  out  of  the  pulpit.  If  he  does  believe 
it  he  ought  to  preach  it  faithfully  and  boldly  ;  what  does  it 
matter  to  him  if  all  men  are  liars  if  "  God  be  true."  With  us 
it  is  very  common,  especially  with  young  preachers,  to  forget 
that  the  pulpit  is  not  a  Theological  professor's  chair.  What 
may  be  very  suitable  for  the  class  is  often  positively 
wrong  for  the  Church.  Sometimes  these  gifted  youths  to  air 
their  learning,  parade  a  false  doctrine,  for  the  purpose  of 
demolishing  it,  and  egregiously  miss  their  mark,  better  have 
left  it  alone.  The  finest  satire  on  this  style  of  preaching  is 
conveyed  in  a  little  story,  perhaps  somewhat  threadbare,  but 
which  will  suffer  no  harm  by  one  more  repetition.  "  The  Dean 
of  A.  had  been  made  Bishop  of  B.,  he  preached  one  Sunday 
at  A.  as  Bishop.  His  very  "cultured"  sermon  was  intended 
to  be  a  complete  demolition  of  Agnosticism.  After  the  ser- 


57 

vice  he  said  to  the  old  verger,  "Well,  Grummit,  how  did  you 
like  my  sermon  ?"  He  replied,  "Well,  my  lord,  very  much, 
it  was  very  beautiful  and  very  learned  ,  but  you  know  after  all 
I  still  believe  that  there  is  a  God."  Poor  Bishop  ! 

Yet  after  all  America  is  a  strange  land  from  a  religious  point 
of  view,  for  side  by  side  with  orthodoxy  is  heterodoxy.  Their 
land  is  free,  and  Liberty  of  conscience  is  a  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  their  constitution.  In  some  respects  they  have  already 
found  it  too  elastic,  and  have  had  to  restrict  its  limits.  It  is 
hard  to  deny  liberty  to  all,  however  strange  their  doctrine,  their 
creed,  and  their  practices  may  be.  Where  must  the  line  be 
drawn  ?  The  Christian  tolerates  the  Jew.  The  Trinitarian  the 
Unitarian.  The  Puritan  the  Agnostic.  The  Shakers  the 
Mormons,  and  the  Materialists  the  Spiritualists,  and  all  have  to 
tolerate  each  other. 

THE  SHAKERS. 

From  a  Christian  point  of  view  the  Shaker,  in  doctrine  and 
faith,  is  as  far  from  Orthodoxy  as  the  Mormon — nay,  this  is 
hardly  fair  to  the  Mormon,  for  the  Mormon  is  a  Christian,  but 
he  is  something  more,  whilst  the  Shaker  denies  some  of  the 
great  fundamental  verities  of  the  Christian  faith.  "  i.  They 
do  not  believe  in  God  as  a  tripartite  being  solely  masculine, 
defined  fhe  Holy  Trinity  of  human  creeds."  "  4.  Jesus  was 
not  God,  but  simply  God's  vicegerent ;  nor  by  his  birth  of 
Mary  was  he  the  true  spiritual  Son  of  God.  as  our  Saviour." 
"  9.  Jesus's  death  on  the  cross  of  wood  constitutes  no  part  of 
the  plan  of  salvation  instituted  by  our  Heavenly  Father  ;  it 
simply  operated  to  delay  its  progress."  "  10.  .  .  .  The  physi- 
cal blood  he  shed  had  no  part  in  the  plan  of  salvation." 


•       58 

"n.  ...  No  vicarious  atonement!"  .  .  .  "As  well  have 
vicarious  nutrition,  and  respiration,  as  vicarious  obedience." 
These  extracts  are  taken  from  "Sketches  of  Shakers  and 
Shakerism,"  by  Giles  B.  Avery,  obtained  from  the  community 
at  Mount  Lebanon.  At  p.  49  of  the  same  work  they  say, 
"  The  Shakers  while  confiding  in  the  inspired  testimony  of 
many  of  the  biblical  writers,  deny  that  the  Bible  of  any  nation, 
or  people,  is  the  word  of  God."  .  .  .  "But  these  people  deem 
that  portions  of  the  Christian  bible  are  a  faithful  Record  of  a 
measure  of  that  word"  "  That  the  bible  is  not  all  yet  written." 
This  little  work  no  doubt  contains  much  that  is  good  :  it  testifies 
at  p.  12  that  "  while  Shakers  live  absolutely,  pure  virgin  lives, 
no  people  in  the  world  enjoy  such  a  range  of  freedom,  .in  the 
social  sense,  between  the  sexes,  but  it  is  required  to  be  free 
from  all  that  would  tend  to  fleshly  affections  and  actions." 
"  The  power  thus  to  live,  in  virgin  purity  and  innocence,  is 
found  in  the  conviction  that  a  spotless  virgin,  angelic  life  is  the 
order  of  the  kindom  of  Christ,  and  is  higher,  better,  happier, 
than  a  sensual,  worldly  life.  Add  to  this  protective  bye-laws, 
which  all  are  in  honour  bound  to  keep,  thus,  one  brother  and 
one  sister  not  allowed  to  work  together,  walk  out  or  ride  out 
together  alone ;  nor  hold  lengthy  conversations  together  alone." 
Under  the  head  of  "Society  Arrangements,"  it  says,  "  These 
are  into  families,  varying  in  numbers  from  very  few  to  1 50  or 
more.  These  families  consist  of  both  sexes  and  ages.  Their 
organization,  formulas  and  bye-laws  are  anti-monastic ;  each 
sex,  however,  occupying  separate  apartments  (including  those 
married,  who  have  become  members)  all  in  the  same  dwelling  > 
both  sexes  take  meals  in  the  same  hall  at  the  same  time,  each 
sex  by  themselves,  except  small  parties  at  unusual  meal  times ; 


59 

these,  both  at  the  same  table.  They  kneel  in  prayer  before, 
and  in  thanks  after  each  meal ;  partake  of  meals  in  silence/' 

Under  the  head  of  "  How  to  become  a  Member  of  the 
Shaker  Order,"  the  pamphlet  says,  "  i.  Any  soul  may  become 
a  member  of  the  Shaker  Institution  or  Christianity  ...  by 
first  confessing  all  sin  to  God,  in  the  presence  of  a  living,  Christ 
witness,  who  in  like  manner  has  confessed  all  sin,  and  is 
appointed  Elder,  or  Eldress  and  Confessor''' ..."  2.  A  further 
source  of  membership  is  to  take  up  a  daily  cross  against  all  the 
passions  of  a  worldly,  generative  life,  living  a  life  of  pure, 
virgin  celibacy."  "3.  To  come  out  from  the  world  and  be 
separate  ..."  "  True  Christianity,  as  understood  by  Shakers, 
ultimates  in  a  full  consecration  of  treasure  as  well  as  time  and 
talents,  to  the  support  of  the  Household  of  Faith  and  its  mis- 
sionary and  charitable  enterprises."  "The  consecration  of 
property  is  to  be  entirely  an  act  of  free  will ;  no  demands  are 
made  !  "  "  6.  All  members  of  the  community  are  kindly  and 
dutifully  cared  for,  in  sickness  and  in  health,  no  difference 
being  made  on  account  of  property  considerations.1'  "  8.  The 
doors  of  the  community  are  not  open  to  any  persons  as  a 
merely  charitable  institution." 

The  "  Theology  of  the  Shakers  "  is  somewhat  difficult  to 
define.  We  have  already  made  some  extracts  of  their  doctrines 
which  are  more  of  a  negative  than  a  positive  teaching ;  we  must 
content  ourselves  with  giving  only  two  further  extracts. 
"  5.  The  manifestation  of  Christ  in  Jesus  did  not  perfect  God's 
plan  for  human  salvation  and  redemption  from  sin  and  sinful 
nature."  "  6.  There  was  to  be  a  second  coming  of  the  Christ 
spirit  in  his  glory — not  of  Jesus  but  of  Christ,  manifest  in  and 
through  the  female — woman  the  glory  of  man  :  thus,  redeemed 


6o 


man,  in  dual  character  theory  of  God"  This  last  paragraph 
expresses  a  great  mystery,  probably  too  deep  for  the 
ordinary  reader  to  solve.  Perchance  some  meaning  may  In- 
given  to  this  occult  doctrine  if  we  turn  back  to  page  4.  \Ve 
find  there,  "Out  of  this  Society  ANN  LEE  arose  about  1770, 
having  received,  as  was  believed  by  a  multitude  of  witnesses, 
*  revelation  of  and  commission  from  the  Christ  spirit  in  the 
character  of  the  "BRIDE"  of  the  "BRIDEGROOM."  As 
everybody  knows,  Ann  Lee,  an  English  woman  settled  in 
America,  was  the  founder  of  the  Community  in  1787,  which 
now  numbers  about  4000  souls, 

\Vhatc\er  in. iv  In- the  doctrines  and  teachings  ot'thc  Shakers, 
their  ncii-hltoiiisand  the  sunoiiiuling  \\oiUl  tcsii;\  that  they  live 
.1  pure  and  blameless  lite,  that  lhe\  are  an  industrious,  frugal 

and  sober  people.  We  paid  a  visit  to  their  original  Com- 
munity at  Mount  Lebanon,  Colombia  Co.,  N.  Y.  \\  I 
inspected  the  chapel,  the  dining-room,  kitchen,  sitting  and 
conversation  rooms  and  dormitories  \  everything  was  scmpu 
lously  clean  and  neat,  and  the  sleeping  rooms  had  even  an  air 
of  refinement  and  cosiness*  The  majority  of  the  members 

were  a\va\  at  tield  work,  but  all  \\hoin  we  saw  appeared  cheer 
f'ul,  bright  and  happy,  and  were  ol"  the  humbler  class  ot  hie. 
Several  women  were  busily  engaged  in  bottling  and  pat-kin:* 
the  celebrated  "  Mother  -StegePs  Syrup*"  One  may  say  that 
this  is  consistent  with  Shakerism,  for  they  believe  in  remedies 
for  the  cure  of  sickness*  Our  readers  may  -probably  bj 
interested  to  learn  where  that  world  advertised  Syrup  is  made* 

I'he  Shakers  are  great  at  inventions  and  claim  to  have  been  the 
first  to  invent  ami  manufacture  "cut  nails"  and  "metallic 

pens  "  (made  of  brass  and  silver.)    Every  member  must  be 


6i 

engaged  in  some  manual  labour  or  other  useful  pursuit.  We 
were  very  pleased  with  what  we  saw,  and  with  the  simplicity  of 
tlu-  people,  and  one  could  wish  that  their  doctrine  was  not  so 
complex ;  but  perhaps  it  is  simple  to  them.  The  situation  of 
the  various  houses  of  the  Community  at  Mount  Lebanon  is 
\<  i \  i-i«  imr  ,rjue  ;  the  country  is  undulating  and  well  cultivated, 
tlu-  IK  Ms  have  an  appearance  of  neatness  and  tidiness,  trees  are 
advantageously  planted,  and  the  surrounding  wooded  heights  of 
the  i:<  ikshire  hills  give  the  place  an  air  of  calmness  and  repose 
suited  to  its  religious  character.  The  village  is  about  two 
miles  limn  tin-  |IM  tun ".rjiir  little  (own  of  Lebanon  Springs,  and 
ilj  accessible  from  it. 

THE  MORMONS, 

And  now  we  must  turn  our  thoughts  for  a  few  momenta 
from  tin  developement  of  a  new  religion  in  the  East,  Shaker- 
i  in,  to  a  still  stranger  manifestation,  Mormoniim,  in  the  West, 
.Hi linn-;,  its  <.n  <ui  also  first  took  place  in  the  East  in  the  State 
of  New  Y <  > 1 1.  We  say  a  strtnger  manifestation,  stranger  in  its 
in-  -  |  tinii,  stranger  in  its  development,  and  marvellously  stranger 
in  its  results.  Mormonism  would  seem  to  be  rather  a  retrograde 
movenn  ni  ili  .;mce.  Shakerism  on  the  contrary  in  its 

"linn •'''•  outcome  holds  and  accept!  in  its  integrity  one  of  the 
hij-'Ji'-.i,  purest,  and  latest  teachings  of  the  gospel— celibacy. 
\\IMI  i,r  monism  maintains  the  fint great  social  institution  of 
tli'  Creator— MAIM  ,„(]  esteems  the  institution  so  highly 

i i''i  it  becomes  the  predominant  feature  in  it*  religious  and 
social  life;  following,  as  they  say,  the  example  set  by  the 
I  iiiiarchs  of  old,  What  a  complex  problem  we  have  here! 
I''  >  >kcr  wrapping  round  him  his  garb  of  chastity  looks  in 


62 

pity,  if  not  in  sorrow,  at  the  carnal  minded  monogamist,  whilst 
the  latter,  satisfied  that  he  is  right,  openly  expresses  his  con- 
tempt and  even  horror  at  the  polygamist. 

Our  glance  must  indeed  be  a  very  rapid  one,  we  may  say 
almost  a  superficial  one,  but  it  shall  be  one  based  solely  on 
experience  and  the  perusal  of  their  own  books  and  not  from 
hearsay.  Probably  the  best  way  to  do  this  will  be  to  give  a 
brief  account  of  the  preaching  we  heard  on  the  one  Sunday 
afternoon  of  our  stay  in  Salt  Lake  City.  Our  readers,  like  our- 
selves, may  be  somewhat  startled  at  the  revelations  then  made. 
The  service  was  held  in  a  small  chapel,  the  great  Tabernacle 
being  closed  for  repairs.  Several  dignitaries  of  the  Mormon 
Church  were  on  the  platform.  There  was  no  pulpit.  We 
do  not  remember  the  name  of  the  presiding  Elder,  a  benevolent 
looking  elderly  man,  he  was  supported  by  five  or  six 
others,  among  whom  were  the  "Patriarch"  of  the  Mormon 
Church,  John  Smith  (a  nephew  of  the  "Prophet"  Joseph 
Smith)  and  the  "  President  of  the  Seventies,"  Edward  Steven- 
son. Both  of  these  had  come  out  when  young,  one  as  a  mere 
boy.  when  (under  the  leadership  of  Brigham  Young)  the  perse- 
cuted Mormons  made  their  exodus  across  the  wilderness,  and 
found  a  place  of  shelter  amid  the  mountains  of  Utah,  by  the 
shores  of  that  "  Dead  Sea  "  of  the  West,  the  Great  Salt  Lake. 
It  was  the  latter  who  preached.  The  preliminary  part  of  the 
service  was  very  similar  to  that  of  a  Dissenting  place  of  worship 
in  England.  Hymns  were  sung,  but  as  we  had  no  hymn  book 
(and  none  was  offered  to  us)  we  do  not  know  the  nature  of  the 
hymns  sung.  Then  prayer  was  offered,  apparently  quite 
orthodox,  except  that  in  one  place  reference  was  made  to 
"Thy  servant  Joseph,"  (presumably  the  "  Prophet"  Joseph 


Smith.)  The  Bible  was  read,  we  believe  both  from  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments.  The  Book  of  Mormon  was  not  read, 
nor  even  referred  to.  Then  came  the  sermon. 

A    MORMON  SERMON. 

It  dealt  in  the  main  with  the  authority  of  a  preacher ;  that 
he  must  be  called  and  sent.  It  was  so  far  a  plain,  practical 
and  convincing  address.  We  feel  sure  that  few  could  have 
taken  exception  to  any  part  of  it.  Then  the  preacher  referred 
to  the  persecutions  of  the  Mormons  in  the  States,  in  their  early 
days  ;  the  confiscation  of  their  property,  referring  in  detail  to 
certain  lands  of  his  father's,  which  were  now  justly  his,  but 
of  which  he  is  still  deprived.  He  then  referred  to  the  murder 
of  Joseph  Smith  in  Carthage  gaol,  and  lastly  he  spoke  of  the 
Mormons  being  driven  into  exile,  and  how  the  people  of  the 
Lord  had  found  the  true  Zion,  and  had  turned  an  arid  wilder- 
ness into  a  fruitful  and  fertile  Garden  of  Eden  with  the  waters 
of  Jordan  running  through  it.  So  far  so  good.  No  one  can 
deny  that  wherever  the  Mormons  have  planted  their  feet  they 
have  made  the  desert  to  bloom.  Let  one  go  but  a  few  miles 
away  from  charming,  lovely  Salt  Lake  City  with  its  beautiful 
and  spacious  avenues  lined  with  chestnut,  acacia,  maple  and 
locust  trees,  with  streams  of  crystal  water  flowing  on  either  side 
of  the  road,  and  they  will  find  a  wretched  watery  waste  of 
shallow  salt  pools  and  sandy  plains  with  scrubby  shrubs,  and 
here  and  there  a  neatly  railed-off  farmstead  rising  triumphantly 
out  of  the  wilderness,  with  a  patch  or  two  of  maize  clinging  to  it. 

Let  us  now  resume  the  Sermon.  We  were  then  told  that 
the  "  Prophet "  Joseph  Smith  had  by  the  gift  of  revelation, 
been  able  to  proclaim  to  the  world  the  site  of  the  Garden  of 


64 

Eden,  the  veritable  true  Garden  in  which  Adam  and  Eve 
dwelt— not  the  land  of  Eden  in  which  their  city  was  built.  All 
the  wise  men  in  the  world  had  not  been  able  to  discover  where 
the  garden  was  ;  it  was  all  surmise  and  guess  work.  But 
Joseph  Smith  knew  by  revelation  where  it  was — IT  WAS  IN 
AMERICA  !  and  it  is  perfectly  clear  where  it  was,  for  did  not  a 
river  go  out  of  Eden  and  became  into  four  heads  and  branches, 
(See  Genesis  ii.  v.  10  to  14.)  and  were  not  those  four  rivers  the 
Mississippi,  the  Missouri,  the  Ohio  and  the  Arkansas  rivers? 
The  next  startling  revelation  was  that  during  a  recent  visit 
made  by  the  preacher  to  Jackson  Co.,  Missouri,  he  had  seen 
the  very  stone  that  (according  to  the  "  Prophet"  Joseph  Smith) 
had  served  Adam  for  an  altar  when  he  was  turned  out  of  the 
Garden  of  Eden.  Then  a  short  allusion  was  made  to  the  fact, 
that  at  that  time  the  continents  of  Europe  and  America  were 
united  and  had  since  been  separated  by  the  sea,  and  lastly, 
that  the  American  Indians  were  portions  of  the  lost  tribes  of 
Israel.  Certainly  there  is  novel  matter  here  for  reflection. 
We  must  leave  our  readers  to  refute  the  assertions  here  made 
at  their  leisure. 

POLYGAMY  is  a  thing  of  the  past  in  Salt  Lake  City.  The 
guns  of  Fort  Douglas,  within  easy  range  of  the  town,  have  had 
a  repressing  influence.  The  law  is  now  supreme.  It  is  a  very 
sad  thing  when  law  has  to  be  enforced  among  a  people  at  the 
cannon's  mouth,  especially  when  that  law  is  ex  post  facto  law^ 
as  we  are  told  it  is  in  this  case.  Marrying  is  one  thing,  but 
tin-marrying  is  another  ;  and  there  are  hundreds  of  wives  in 
Utah  that  by  the  new  law  are  now  made  widows  with  husbands 
living,  and  children  many,  who  cannot  call  their  fathers  by 
that  honoured  name.  With  us  an  ex  post  facto  law  is  unknown. 


65 

If  in  Utah  the  law  is  now  broken  by  polygamous  marriages, 
the  breaker  of  the  law  will  be  righteously  punished,  for  he  does 
that  which  is  unlawful  with  his  eyes  open,  and  must  take  the 
consequences  of  his  illegal  act. 

SOME  MORMON  DOCTRINES. — Our  space  will  not  permit 
of  our  entering  into  the  doctrines  and  teachings  of  the 
Mormons  at  length.  As  we  have  said,  they  acknowledge 
the  authority  of  the  BIBLE  but  they  add  something  more, 
viz.,  the  BOOK  OF  MORMON  and  other  books.  With 
them  the  ten  commandments  are  binding,  and  they  accept 
the  two  of  our  Lord  :  "  To  love  God  and  to  love  our 
neighbour."  Question  21  in  their  Catechism  is:  "  What  is 
your  duty  to  all  mankind?  A.  To  love  them,  and  to  treat 
them  with  kindness."  They  accept  the  FALL  of  man,  but  with 
strange  views  concerning  it,  diametrically  opposed  to  those 
generally  received:  Thus,  "  Q.  14.  (the  Fall.)  Did  Adam 
and  Eve  lament  or  rejoice  because  they  had  transgressed  the 
the  commandment,  and  become  acquainted  with  the  nature  of 
evil  and  good  ?"  "A.  They  rejoiced  2,n&  praised  God.  Pearl 
of  Great  Price,  page  19.''  "  Q.  15.  Is  it  proper  for  us  to  con- 
sider the  transgression  of  Adam  and  Eve  as  a  grevious  calamity* 
and  that  all  mankind  would  have  been  infinitely  more  happy  if 
the  Fall  had  not  occurred 7"  "A.  No:  but  we  ought  to  con- 
sider the  fall  of  our  first  parents  as  one  of  the  great  steps  to 
eternal  exaltation  and  happiness,  and  one  ordered  by  God  in 
His  infinite  wisdom,  for  we  cannot  know  the  excellency  and 
beauty  of  that  which  is  good,  unless  we  experience  the 
wretchedness  and  deformity  of  that  which  is  evil."  Probably 
our  readers  will  think  this  strange  reasoning,  at  all  events  it  is 
new  and  startling.  Nevertheless  mixed  with  all  this  are  the 


66 

great  foundations  of  the  Christian  faith.  Under  the  head 
of  "  Redemption  from  the  Fall,"  the  following  questions 
occur  :  "  3.  Q.  How  then  was  a  redemption  from  the  effects 
of  the  Fall  wrought  out?  A.  God  sent  His  only  begotten 
Son,  who  knew  no  sin,  to  die  for  the  sins  of  the  world  and  thus 
satisfy  the  demands  of  justice.  Rom.  v.  8,  10.  i  Tim.  1,15. 
4  Q.  Can  men  be  redeemed  from  the  Fall  through  the  media- 
tion of  any  other  being  than  Jesus  Christ,  or  in  any  other  way 
than  the  one  pointed  out?  A.  No  :  the  redemption  by  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  only  one.  Act  iv.  12.  Book  of  Mormon,  i. 
Nephi  x.  6.  Mosiah  iii.  17."  Respecting  the  Sacrament, 
question  5  is  as  follows  :  "  Among  what  people  did  Jesus 
Christ  institute  the  Sacrament  ?  A,  Among  the  Jewish  dis- 
ciples at  Jerusalem  just  previous  to  his  death,  and  among  his 
Nephite  disciples  IN  AMERICA  just  after  His  resurrection. 
Matt.  xxvi.  26,  29.  Book  of  Mormon,  3  Nephi  xviii.  i — 12." 
With  these  quotations  we  must  close  our  remarks  on  the 
Mormons.  We  shall  have  something  more  to  say  in  another 
chapter  of  what  we  saw  whilst  we  were  in  Salt  Lake  City. 

We  have  placed  the  Shakers  and  Mormons  in  juxtaposition, 
as  they  probably  illustrate  best  the  wide  ranges  of  religious 
belief  in  America.  One  is  strangely  heterodox  in  doctrine, 
but  pure  in  practice ;  the  other  is  more  orthodox  in  principle, 
but  widely  diverging  from  the  path  of  modern  views.  No  man 
can  judge  another.  All  will  have  to  answer  to  the  Supreme 
Judge  at  the  final  reckoning,  according  to  the  light  he  has  had 
and  according  as  he  has  followed,  or  otherwise,  the  dictates  of 
his  own  conscience.  There  is  a  universal  law,  applicable  to  all, 
to  the  reader  and  the  writer  irrespective  of  creed.  "  And  that 
servant,  which  knew  his  lord's  will,  and  prepared  not  himself, 
neither  did  according  to  his  will,  shall  be  beaten  with  many 
stripes."  Luke  xii.  47. 


67 

DIVINE   HEALING. 

Another  strange  religious  phase  occurred  while  we  were  at 
Denver.  A  poor  illiterate  man  named  Schlater  was  the  talk  of 
the  town.  It  was  currently  reported  that  the  people  believed 
him  to  be  some  great  one,  (we  forbear  to  say  whom)  and  that 
he  had  the  power  to  cure  all  manner  of  diseases.  People 
flocked  in  to  Denver  by  hundreds  and  thousands  to  be  healed 
by  him  ol  their  maladies.  Many  offered  him  money,  but  he 
refused  to  take  any.  He  never  preached,  and  during  the  day- 
time was  constantly  in  the  street  by  the  bridge,  in  all  weathers 
and  at  all  hours.  We  never  saw  him,  but  we  were  told  that  his 
clothing  was  almost  all  rags.  We  heard  him  once  referred  to 
from  a  very  popular  pulpit  in  Denver  as  "  our  dear  brother  on 
the  other  side  of  the  bridge."  We  believe  the  truth  about  him 
to  be  this.  When  the  people  came  to  him  to  be  healed,  he 
told  them  plainly  and  clearly  that  he  had  no  healing  power; 
the-  people  were  hard  to  be  persuaded  that  he  had  not,  for 
many  had  been  cured  of  their  diseases  by  coming  to  him,  and 
several  living  at  a  great  distance,  went  so  far  in  their  enthusiasm 
as  to  send  hundreds  of  handkerchiefs  to  him  that  he  might 
touch  them  and  give  healing  virtue  to  them,  but  he  refused  to 
do  any  such  thing  and  rebuked  them  for  their  folly.  All  that 
he  did  was  to  proclaim  himself  as  a  living  witness  to  God's 
faithfulness,  and  to  ask  the  people  who  came  to  be  healed,  if 
they  had  faith  to  believe  that  God  could  heal  them ;  if  they 
said  "  yes,  they  had,!'  then  he  said,  "  if  it  is  God's  will  for  you 
to  be  cured,  and  you  have  faith  in  God  that  He  will  do  it,  you 
will  be  cured,"  and  it  is  said  that  very  many  were  healed. 
Day  by  day  hundreds  gathered  round  ;  some  to  mock  and 


68 

some  to  jeer,  yet  Schlater  stood  his  ground  like  a  faithful 
soldier,  the  authorities  of  the  town  giving  him  protection 
Shortly  after  we  left  Denver  some  proceedings  took  place  in 
the  Police  Court,  and  it  was  said  that  it  was  necessary  to  cal 
Schlater  as  a  witness,  but  Schlater  did  not  desire  it,  and  so 
mysteriously  left  Denver,  and  as  far  as  we  know,  had  not  since 
been  heard  of.  It  was  supposed  that  he  had  met  his  death 
whilst  travelling  in  a  "  freight  "  train  which  took  fire. 

MRS.  BELLA    COOKE. 

A  few  years  ago  we  had  placed  in  our  hands  a  book  giving 
an  account  of  the  life,  sufferings,  and  work  of  Mrs.  Bella 
Cooke  of  New  York.  We  read  it  with  much  interest,  and 
marvelled  to  think  that  there  could  be  so  much  faith  on  earth, 
and  more  still  to  see  how  that  faith  was  honoured.  We  deter- 
mined if  ever  we  were  permitted  to  visit  America,  we  would 
call  on  Mrs.  Cooke,  who  during  the  46  years  that  she  has  been 
confined  to  her  bed  through  illness  (never  having  once  left  it 
during  all  that  period)  has  been  so  wonderfully  used  of  God  in 
the  conversion  of  many,  (it  may  probably  be  said  of  her  that 
few  private  individuals  have  been  more  used  of  God  in  that 
respect  than  Mrs.  Cooke)  in  strengthening  the  faith  of  the 
weak,  in  encouraging  and  directing  the  efforts  of  Christians  of 
all  denominations,  and  in  administering  temporal  relief  to 
thousands,  by  means  of  the  funds  that  have  annually  been  sent 
to  her  for  her  wise  and  judicious  distribution.  To  our  sorrow 
we  heard  at  first  that  she  had  been  called  from  her  sphere  of 
usefulness  on  earth ;  but  prosecuting  our  enquiries,  we  learnt 
that  she  was,  although  74  years  of  age,  still  engaged  in  her 
blessed  mission  of  doing  good.  Having  obtained  her  address 


69 

we  hastened  to  call  upon  her.  On  arriving  at  492,  Second 
Avenue  (New  York)  we  were  directed  to  a  little  tenement  in 
the  rear  of  the  houses  fronting  the  street,  and  told  to  mount 
the  staircase.  At  the  top  our  eye  fell  upon  a  card,  conspicu- 
ously placed,  with  the  word  "Welcome"  on  it.  Encouraged 
thereby  we  knocked  at  the  door,  expecting  on  opening  it  to 
see  a  poor  bed-ridden  old  lady,  feeble  and  infirm.  In  reply  to 
our  knock  we  heard  a  clear  distinct  voice  say,  "  Come  in." 
We  opened  the  door  and  to  our  astonishment  beheld  an  elderly 
lady,  but  without  a  grey  hair,  or  hardly  one,  sitting  up  in  bed, 
who  gave  us  a  bright  and  cheerful  welcome,  inviting  us  to  take 
seats.  We  spent  a  most  delightful  and  pleasant  hour  with  her 
and  felt  greatly  helped  by  her  bright  and  happy  testimony  under 
such  adverse  circumstances.  Forty-six  years  on  one  couch ! 
Why  !  46  years  is  a  lifetime  !  And  her's  has  been  a  very  active 
and  useful  life.  We  visited  her  on  another  occasion.  "  Thanks- 
giving Day,"  the  great  festive  day  of  the  year  in  America,  was 
approaching,  and  the  needy  poor  of  her  neighbourhood  were 
coming  to  her  for  bountiful  help.  To  one  she  said,  "  I  can 
only  give  you  a  turkey,"  to  another,  "I  can  spare  you  a 
-chicken,"  and  so  on  ;  then  by  the  help  of  an  invalid's  writing 
table  drawn  across  the  bed,  she  wrote  out  their  names  and 
addresses  ;  gave  them  cards  with  details  of  gifts,  and  said  their 
cases  would  be  enquired  into.  During  the  next  few  days  there 
would  be  hundreds  of  such  applicants,  and  our  good  friend's 
strength  and  discrimination  would  be  sorely  tested ;  but  she 
has  an  able  and  competent  band  to  assist  her.  Her  gifts  are 
made  to  all  without  distinction  of  creed.  During  the  famine 
in  New  York  some  years  ago,  a  magnificent  relief  fund  was 
raised,  and  so  great  was  the  confidence  placed  in  Mrs.  Cooke 


70 

that  she  was  appointed  the  Distributor  of  the  relief  for  her 
district.  Mrs.  Cooke  is  a  marvellous  woman,  and  although  such 
an  invalid,  is  full  of  energy  and  vitality.  May  she  long  be 
spared  to  fulfil  her  beneficent  and  spiritual  duties  on  earth, 
and  be  filled  with  the  hope  of  hearing,  when  her  earthly  course 
is  done,  the  Master's  commendation  "  Well  done,"  and  "  Inas- 
much." Should  any  of  our  readers  desire  a  further  acquaintance 
with  Mrs.  Bella  Cooke  and  her  work,  we  would  recommend  to 
their  perusal  "  Rifted  Clouds,  or  the  Life  Story  of  Bella 
Cooke."  Palmer  &  Hughes,  New  York,  62  £  64,  Bible  House. 
Hodder  &  Stoughton,  London. 

SPIRITUALISM. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  quit  the  consideration  of  -the 
religious  aspects  of  America  without  some  passing  reference  to 
the  large  and  important  body  of  persons  who  range  them- 
selves under  the  title  of  Spiritualists.  We  believe  that  they 
are  more  numerous  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  State  of  New 
York  and  Boston  than  in  any  other  part  of  America.  Our 
acquaintance  with  them  or  their  tenets  is  but  very  slight ;  but 
we  are  indebted  to  a  trustworthy  friend  for  the  following  state- 
ment :  "  Not  long  ago  a  professional  man,  who  was  deeply 
attached  to  his  wife,  had  the  inexpressible  sorrow  to  lose  her 
through  death.  His  grief  knew  no  bounds  ;  he  was  inconsolable, 
he  could  not  live  without  her.  In  the  midst  of  this  despair 
it  was  suggested  to  him  that  there  were  still  left  means  of  com- 
municating with  her  through  spirit  media,  if  he  would  have  faith 
to  accept  their  aid.  To  this  he  readily  agreed,  although  a  man 
of  more  than  ordinary  intelligence  and  accustomed  to  deal  with 
frauds  and  deceits  in  the  world  around  him.  His  love  for  his 
lost  one  was  so  strong  that  it  overcame  all  obstacles.  He 


longed  to  see  her  once  more,  and  the  spirit  came  to  his  aid. 
He  saw  her  and  conversed  with  her ;  and,  what  is  more,  the 
spirit  of  his  wife  with  her  own  hand  painted  her  own  likeness 
in  oil,  on  canvas,  and  left  it  with  her  husband  as  a  token  of 
her  continued  and  abiding  love,  and  it  remains  to  this  day." 
Our  friend  had  himself  seen  it,  and  he  invited  us  to  go  to  the 
place  where  it  was  preserved  and  see  it  for  ourselves ;  we 
were  not  unwilling,  but  events  arose  which  prevented  our 
doing  so.  It  is  not  the  place  here  to  criticise  this  account,  it 
may  or  it  may  not  be  true.  The  Witch  of  Endor  raised  a 
spirit,  and  as  it  was  in  the  beginning,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be ; 
but  it  is  very  clear  we  must  be  very  careful  what  we  have  to  do 
with  the  spirits,  and  we  are  cautioned  to  try  them.  There  is  a 
remarkable  passage  in  Isaiah  viii.  19,  20,  bearing  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  in  quoting  it  we  will  leave  the  question  ;  it  is  as 
follows  :  "And  when  they  shall  say  unto  you,  Seek  unto  them 
that  have  familiar  spirits,  and  unto  wizards  that  peep,  and  that 
mutter  :  should  not  a  people  seek  unto  their  God  ?  for  the 
living  to  the  dead  ?  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony  :  if  they 
speak  not  according  tc  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light 
in  them." 

AMERICAN  PENTECOSTAL   LEAGUE. 

Whilst  in  Chicago  we  were  pleased  to  make  the  acquaint- 
ance of  one  of  the  leaders  of  this  admirable  work,  which  is 
carried  on  in  connection  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  Sheffield  Avenue,  Chicago.  The  League  is  itself 
but  a  branch  of  the  parent  Pentecostal  League  established  in 
England  by  Mr.  Reader  Harris  Q.  C.,  of  Clapham  Common, 
London,  and,  like  it,  has  for  its  chief  object  "The  spread  of 


7-2 

Scriptural  Holiness  throughout  the  world."  We  have  some 
little  knowledge  of  this  good  work  in  England  and  of  how  its 
blessing  is  spreading  throughout  the  land.  The  League  is  an 
inter-denominational  Prayer  Union,  and  numbers  amongst  its 
members  some  thousands,  and  now  we  see  that  it  has  got  good 
hold  on  American  soil,  and  in  a  city  where  its  influence  is 
greatly  needed.  The  American  organization,  like  the  English 
one,  has  its  monthly  paper,  "Tongues  of  Fire/'  We  wish  the 
League  "  God  speed." 

SARATOGA    SPRINGS. 

We  were  very  pleased  with  Saratoga,  its  spacious  main 
street  lined  with  splendid  elms,  and  its  magnificent  hotels,  two 
of  them  being  probably  the  largest  in  the  world,  one  of  them 
making  up  2000  beds.  The  gardens  behind  these  hotels  are 
beautifully  laid  out ;  the  grass  is  kept  in  the  most  perfect  order, 
and  the  flowers  are  sub-tropical.  The  Americans  certainly  rival 
the  English,  if  they  do  not  surpass  them  in  the  trimness  of 
their  lawns,  and  in  the  beauty  and  rarity  of  their  flowers  ;  but 
we  saw  nothing  anywhere  to  equal  those  exquisite  and  beautiful 
parterres  that  adorn  the  eastern  side  of  our  own  Hyde  Park 
in  the  early  summer.  We  saw  over  the  two  largest  and  most 
fashionable  hotels.  Everything  in  that  respect  is  so  free  and 
easy  in  America.  We  just  expressed  a  wish  to  the  hall  porter 
to  see  over  the  place  and  received  for  answer,  "Just  go  right 
away,"  which  means  straightforward ;  so  we  entered  and  went 
where  we  would.  We  always  met  with  the  same  civility  and 
courtesy  wherever  we  went.  We  thought  the  people  of  Saratoga 
very  polite.  We  were  taking  a  stroll  intending  to  go  to  Wood- 
lawn  Park  and  found  it  further  than  we  thought,  so  we  asked 


73 

two  ladies  who  had  just  alighted  from  a  stylish  carriage,  to 
kindly  direct  us  as  to  the  road.  This  they  did  with  great 
urbanity,  and  not  only  so  but  they  accompanied  us  some  little 
distance  on  our  way,  so  as  to  make  quite  sure  that  we  took  the 
right  turn.  We  noted  this  as  another  little  amenity.  We 
found  that  the  park  was  too  far  off,  so  we  retraced  our  steps, 
and  feeling  very  overdone  with  the  heat,  we  sat  down  for  a 
few  moments  on  an  inviting  seat  in  a  private  garden,  close  to 
the  footpath.  In  America  nearly  all  the  gardens  to  the  villas 
in  town  are  left  open,  without  rail  or  fence,  or  hedge,  thus  the 
exclusive  meum  seems  to  be  nicely  toned  down  by  this  sociable 
concession.  About  a  minute  after  the  lady  of  the  house,  to 
which  no  doubt  the  seat  appertained,  appeared  at  her  door. 
Before  we  could  rise  to  apologise  for  our  little  intrusion,  as 
we  felt  sure  she  had  come  to  rebuke  us  by  intimating  that  the 
seat  was  private  property,  she  said,  "  Well,  won't  you  come  in 
and  take  a  seat,"  and  repeated  the  offer  twice  or  more. 
"  Here  again,"  we  thought  "  is  another  little  amenity."  These 
are  the  straws  to  which  we  have  before  referred,  and  which 
indicate  character  as  much  as  weightier  matters. 

We  visited  some  of  the  celebrated  Saratoga  Springs,  and 
tasted  a  glass  of  the  "  Hathorn  Spring  "  which  we  thought  very 
agreeable.  We  had  a  drive  in  the  afternoon  to  Saratoga  Lake, 
about  four  miles  off,  down  Union  Avenue,  and  saw  many 
"elegant"  carriages  of  every  shape  and  variety;  this  is  their 
afternoon  drive.  The  "  trotting  horse "  seems  to  be  a  great 
feature  in  America,  and  they  certainly  go  apace,  but  with  a 
great  waggle  which  is  not  "  elegant  "  We  drove  on  our  return 
through  the  beautiful  grounds  of  "Yadda,"  the  residence  of 
Mr  Trask.  There  is  a-  very  fine  racecourse  at  Saratoga.  This 


74 

year,  owing  to  some  change  in  the  law  against  betting,  the 
people  were  all  complaining  of  a  bad  season. 

At  times  one  meets  with  singular  people  in  hotels.  We 
met  with  two  ladies  who  were  "  well  to  do,"  for  they  evidently 
possessed  more  money  than  education.  One  of  them  was 
speaking  of  a  woman,  who  for  some  cause  or  another  was 
tabooed  by  society,  but  she  said,  "  Wherever  she  went  every- 
body tattooed  her." 

LAKE  GEORGE.  —  After  spending  two  delightful  days  at 
Saratoga  we  took  the  train  for  Lake  George.  This  is  certainly 
the  prettiest  lake  that  we  saw  in  the  States.  It  reminded  us 
more  of  a  Scotch  loch  than  one  of  our  English  lakes;  the  hills 
surrounding  it  are  bold  and  covered  to  their  summits  with 
wood.  Numerous  islands  (220  in  all)  are  scattered  about  it, 
and  are  very  picturesque  and  pretty,  especially  those  at  the 
"  Narrows."  One  would  have  liked  to  have  spent  a  week  in 
this  delightful  spot.  The  lake  is  called  Lake  George  in 
honour  of  GEORGE  II.  We  spent  the  night  in  a  charming  little 
hotel  at  Rogers  Rock. 

LAKE  CHAMPLAIN  is  a  much  larger  sheet  of  water  than 
Lake  George,  being  120  miles  long.  We  had  a  magnificent 
day  for  our  excursion  on  it.  Our  steamer,  the  Vermont,  was 
one  of  the  finest  lake  steamers  we  were  ever  on  ;  a  "  walking 
beam  "  engine  of  course.  The  grand  saloon  runs  from  stem 
to  stern,  as  there  is  only  one  class.  The  lake  was  like  glass ; 
the  distant  views  were  very  fine,  we  had  the  Green  Mountains 
on  the  one  side  and  the  Adirondacks  on  the  other. 

AUSABLE  CHASM. — We  arrived  here  about  8  p.m.  ;  the 
heat  being  again  intense,  after  the  short  spell  of  cold  at 
Saratoga.  The  next  day  we  visited  the  "  Chasm"  a  rent  in  the 


75 

rock  nearly  ij  mile  long,  and  about  200  feet  deep,  and  just 
wide  enough  for  a  roaring  roistering  river  to  tear  its  way 
through.  As  a  minor  sight  it  is  well  worthy  of  a  visit.  We 
quite  enjoyed  shooting  the  rapids  which  are  at  the  end  of  the 
Chasm.  At  first  on  entering  them  the  water  was  very  troubled, 
and  the  boat  eddied  about  from  side  to  side,  lurching  at  times 
so  that  the  water  splashed  over  the  passengers.  Some  were 
alarmed,  and  would  feign  have  got  out,  but  that  was  impossible, 
once  entered  upon,  like  many  other  trying  adventures,  it  must 
be  gone  through.  The  ladies  were  fairly  brave  !  but  one  man 
afraid  of  what  was  before  looked  back.  We  bade  him  be  bold, 
and  that  it  was  better  to  look  forward,  but  best  of  all  to  "look 
up "  when  going  through  troubled  waters  whether  real  or 
metaphorical.  We  spent  the  Sunday  here,  and  attended  service 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Keesville.  This  was  pewed  in 
the  English  fashion,  and  spittoons  %ere  provided  in  each  pew. 
The  whole  of  the  Church  was  carpeted,  as  were  all  the  other 
Churches  we  were  in.  We  had  a  warm  walk  back  to  our  hotel. 
We  saw  a  "  robin,"  which  was  much  larger  than  ours,  being 
the  size  of  a  thrush,  but  it  had  three  resemblances  to  ours;  it 
had  a  reddish  breast,  it  was  very  sociable,  coming  quite  near, 
and  was  alone.  Sparrows  are  abundant  in  America  ;  they  are 
good  colonists,  in  fact  too  good,  and  have  over-run  the  land 
like  John  Chinaman.  It  is  only  a  few  years  since  they  were 
introduced  and  now  they  are  everywhere,  and  a  price  is  set  on 
their  heads.  Swallows  were  very  rarely  seen,  if  ever,  but 
something  like  a  swallow  was  seen  occasionally.  Is  it  too  far 
for  them  to  fly  from  Africa?  There  is  a  nice  little  wild  crea- 
ture very  like  a  small  squirrel  called  a  "  Chippee"  Sometimes 
these  are  so  tame  that  they  will  come  in  the  house  and  take 


76 

food  from  your  hand.  Even  when  wild  they  will  come  out  of 
their  hiding  places  in  the  broken  timber  by  the  road  side  and 
look  inquiringly  with  their  sharp  black  eyes  at  the  passer  by, 
and  they  seem  to  answer  to  their  name  when  one  calls  "  Chip- 
pee."  In  the  fields  there  is  a  little  animal  called  a  "  ground 
hog,"  or  woodchuck,  which  does  a  good  deal  of  damage  to 
crops,  and  is  hunted  down.  In  winter  it  is  dormant.  Here 
we  first  came  across  the  "  Golden  Rod/'  which  is  the  national 
emblem  of  America.  As  its  name  implies  it  has  a  yellow 
flower. 

MONTREAL. 

We  reached  Montreal  (population  270,000)  on  the  Monday 
evening,  crossing  the  river  St.  Lawrence  by  that  marvel  of 
engineering  skill  the  Victoria  Tubular  Bridge,  which  is  if  mile 
long.  Montreal  is  a  fine  bustling  city,  giving  one  the  idea  of 
possessing  great  wealth  and  of  having  numerous  busy  indus- 
tries and  commercial  enterprises.  The  quays  are  filled  with 
Atlantic  liners.  Its  chief  streets  if  not  wide  were  attractive  and 
possessed  many  fine  shops.  It  is  the  custom  here  in  many 
instances  to  abreviate  the  designation  of  street  by  omitting  the 
word  "  street,"—  thus,  "Craig,"  "Sparks,"  "Notre  Dame," 
&c.  It  has  just  occurred  to  us  that  the  reason  for  this  omission 
may  be  that  as  half  the  population  speak  French  it  would  have 
to  be  Street  or  "  Rue,"  so  they  say  nothing.  The  principal 
streets  were  all  disfigured  by  the  clumsy  and  heavy  telegraph 
posts  that  occupy  each  side,  and  which  bear  innumerable 
wires.  Everything  is  much  more  English  here  than  in  the 
States,  and  there  is  a  marked  difference  in  the  features  of  the 
people.  The  more  bracing  air  of  the  north  evidently  having 


77 

an  invigorating  effect  upon  the  Canadians.  Nevertheless  we 
found  Montreal  very  hot,  and  we  passed  through  another 
thunder  storm  and  a  terrible  downpower  of  rain.  There  are 
some  fine  public  buildings,  but  none  very  notable.  The  R.  C. 
Church  of  Notre  Dame  is  large  but  very  rigid  and  stiff  in  its 
appearance.  It  can  seat  10,000,  and  on  a  crush  15,000 
worshipers  ;  it  has  very  large  galleries,  an  exceptional  feature  in 
a  R.  C.  Church  in  these  days.  The  St.  James'  Methodist 
Church  is  a  very  striking  and  handsome  building.  There  are 
some  very  pretty  villa  residences  in  the  streets  of  the  suburbs. 

MONT  REAL. — The  chief  point  of  interest  is  the  hill,  so 
called,  (and  from  which  the  city  evidently  takes  its  name)  it  is 
900  feet  above  "tide  level,"  as  the  Americans  say.  The  view 
from  the  summit,  which  is  gained  by  an  elevator,  is  very  fine. 
The  city  and  the  river  lying  close  to  its  base,  and  the  scene 
extending  far  into  Canada  and  reaching  to  the  Adirondacks  in 
the  States. 

LA  CHINE  RAPIDS. — These  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  a 
little  above  Montreal,  are  famous,  and  are  probably  the  largest 
navigable  rapids  in  the  world.  We  passed  through  the  excite- 
ment of  "  shooting  them  "  on  a  large  steamer,  which  rolled 
about  as  though  it  were  in  mid-ocean.  The  passage  is  not  (at 
times)  unattended  with  danger,  as  a  short  time  after  our  visit 
another  steamer  in  the  attempt  struck  upon  a  rock,  sprung  a 
leak,  and  was  only  just  able  to  reach  the  shore  and  land  her 
passengers  before  she  sank.  We  passed  under  and  had  a  very 
fine  view  of  the  Victoria  Bridge.  The  name  "La  Chine  "is 
supposed  to  have  been  given  to  the  rapids  by  the  early  French 
settlers,  who  were  navigating  the  St.  Lawrence  in  the  hope  of 
finding  a  North  West  route  to  China,  when  for  a  time  they 


78 

were  stopped  in  their  endeavours  by  the  torrent  of  waters,  here 
about  one  mile  wide,  but  they  encouraged  and  rallied  them- 
selves by  calling  out  "  La  Chine,  La  Chine," — hence  the  name, 
now  pronounced  Lasheen,  though  spelt  "Lachine." 

CAUTIONS.  —  We  were  assured  here  that  the  one  cent 
Canadian  post  card  with  an  additional  one  cent  stamp  on  it 
would  be  good  for  England  ;  it  is  an  error,  as  every  recipient 
had  to  pay  3d.  more,  the  card  being  above  regulation  size. 
This  equally  applies  to  American  post  cards. 

There  is  very  great  difficulty  in  America  in  getting  your 
Cheque  on  London  cashed.  It  is  well  to  make  a  note  of  this. 

BEWARE  OF  PICKPOCKETS. — Going  down  to  Lachine,  three 
apparently  respectable  young  men  at  the  station  had  marked 
us  for  their  prey.  Where  we  went,  they  went.  We  plainly 
saw  their  object.  On  entering  a  carriage  they  collected  in  the 
doorway  ;  we  avoided  them  and  got  into  another,  they  followed 
and  seated  themselves  by  us.  We  then  went  into  another 
carriage,  and  then  suspecting  that  their  purpose  was  apparent 
they  gave  up  the  chase.  A  quite  similar  event  happened  to  us 
at  Boston.  We  at  once  let  them  see  that  we  discerned  their 
object,  and  the  three  quietly  went  away.  Many  years  residence 
in  London  had  made  us  familiar  with  the  type,  and  the  accom- 
panying black  bag  and  rug.  Curiously  enough  not  one  traveller 
in  twenty  in  America  carries  a  rug,  only  chevaliers  d*  industrie. 

OTTAWA. 

An  uninteresting  railroad  journey  of  4  hours  brought  us  to 
Ottawa.  We  noticed  on  the  way  thousands  of  pine  trees 
stripped  of  their  bark.  This  is  a  great  district  for  manufactur- 
ing potash  from  these  trees  when  burnt.  Another  feature,  and 


79 

not  a  pleasing  one,  was  that  the  roots  of  the  original  trees  were 
left  in  the  ground  with  about  four  or  five  feet  of  stump  standing 
up,  the  early  settlers  not  having  had  time  or  appliances  for 
uprooting  the  trees,  simply  sawed  the  tree  through  at  that 
distance  from  the  ground  and  left  the  stump  standing.  The 
face  of  the  country  is  disfigured  by  them  and  has  an  air  of 
desolation  and  untidiness.  One  sees  at  a  glance  why  a  certain 
class  of  oratory  is  called  "  stump  oratory."  The  stump  forms 
a  ready  platform  to  be  mounted  at  a  moment's  notice.  That 
great  and  noble  man,  Abraham  Lincoln,  often  availed  himself 
of  their  aid,  thereby  giving  dignity  to  so  rude  and  ready  a 
platform. 

GOVERNMENT  BUILDINGS. — Ottawa  (population  45,000)  is- 
the  official  capital  of  the  Dominion.     It  is  a  pleasant  clean 
little  city,  as  yet  only  half  developed  ;  no  doubt  it  has  a  great 
future  before  it.     Truly  it  rejoices  in  the  possession  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  unique  Government  buildings  we  ever  saw. 
The  design  is  effective,  the  colouring   and  ornamentation  are 
charming   and    graceful,    and   the  situation  is   perfect.     The 
interior  corresponds  with  the  exterior  and  is  replete  with  every 
necessary  and  comfort  for  parliamentary  life.     But  the  gem  of 
the  whole  is   the  beautiful  Library  of  Parliament.     Rarely  has 
literary  and  legal  lore  been   enshrined  in  so  chaste  and  pure  a 
casket  of  Gothic  work  as  this.     The  impression  made  upon  us- 
by  the  grace  and  beauty  of  these  National  temples  has  not  been 
effaced  or  diminished  by  the  grander  and  more  colossal  edifices, 
of  its  greater  and  mightier  neighbour  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
We  saw  in  the  gardens  here  the  section  of  a  tree  which 
measured  8  feet  in   diameter ;  it  was  558  years  old  when  cut 
down,  and  was   183    years   old   when    Columbus   landed  in 
America. 


8o 

A  TIMBER  YARD. — Canada  is  the  land  of  trees  and  timber, 
or  as  they  call  it,  "lumber,"  it  is  abundant  everywhere.  Wood 
is  used  for  everything,  houses,  footpaths,  bridges,  &c.  We 
went  to  see  the  Chaudiere  Falls,  200  feet  wide  by  50  deep, 
said  once  to  be  very  imposing.  What  we  saw  might  be  called 
the  ruins  of  a  waterfall,  if  such  a  thing  can  be  ;  it  was  a 
shrivelled  up,  dilapidated  fragment,  with  its  brown  rocks,  once 
cool  and  sparkling,  now  scorching  in  the  sun  with  hardly  as 
much  water  flowing  over  them  in  parts  as  would  make  a  bath 
fora  minnow  to  revel  in.  Alas!  how  are  the  mighty  fallen. 
There  is  enough  water  left  yet,  but  the  neighbouring  greedy 
saw  mills  are  perpetually  drinking  it  all  up.  Fifty  years  hence 
what  will  become  of  Niagara  ?  The  New  Zealander  will  have 
to  come  over  and  see  it  in  its  ruins,  illuminated  by  coloured 
electric  lights  generated  by  its  own  exhausted  powers. 

The  gates  of  the  saw  mill  yard  were  wide  open,  inviting  us 
to  enter  and  see  to  what  good  purposes  that  useless  water 
outside  running  to  waste  night  and  day  had  now  been  put. 
There  was  no  notice  up  in  the  usual  exclusive  terms,  "  No 
admittance."  If  there  had  been  it  would  have  made  no 
difference,  we  should  have  entered,  for  it  does  not  mean  what  it 
says,  it  is  only  a  formal  manner  of  avoiding  liability  in  case 
your  leg  was  cut  off  by  the  machinery.  In  America  if  they 
really  mean  you  to  keep  out — for  instance  from  behind  the 
counter  of  a  post-office,  or  other  public  department,  they  write 
up,  '•'Positively  no  admittance^  and  then  they  mean  what  they 
say.  We  were  greatly  struck  by  the  force  of  the  notice  outside 
a  private  room  in  our  hotel  at  New  York  on  the  day  of  our 
arrival,  it  was  obvious  that  your  company  was  not  desired 
there,  as  the  notice  in  writing  was  peremptory,  it  was  simply 


8i 

"  KEEP  OUT."  Fresh  as  we  were  to  the  country,  we  thought  it 
lacked  of  politeness  "  quite  a  little." 

We  entered  the  yard  and  were  told  to  "go  right  away," 
which  again  did  not  mean  what  was  said,  but  go  straight  for- 
ward. Cart  loads  of  ice  were  being  brought  into  the  yard  for 
the  labourers'  iced  water.  The  weather  was  hot,  and  the 
work  was  hot,  so  there  was  always  somebody  at  the  iced  water 
tub.  We  saw  the  whole  process,  being  cordially  invited  to  see 
everything.  First  the  log  or  tree  trunk,  perhaps  two  feet  thick, 
was  hooked  by  men  out  of  the  timber  pond  and  placed  on  an 
endless  inclined  plane  that  was  always  working  up,  and  the 
log  was  thus  raised  and  placed  on  and  secured  to  a  cradle,  that 
moved  backwards  and  forwards  on  wheels  over  rails  about  30 
feet  each  way ;  each  time  it  moved  the  log  came  in  contact 
with  an  endless  band  saw,  making  300  revolutions  a  minute, 
and  a  slice  two,  three  or  four  inches  thick,  as  was  required, 
came  off  in  the  shape  of  a  plank  or  joist.  The  friction  of  the 
saw  is  so  great  that  water  is  constantly  kept  running  over  it  to 
keep  the  wood  from  igniting.  In  about  three  minutes  the  log 
is  converted  into  planks  and  another  log  takes  its  place.  The 
planks,  as  they  are  cut,  fall  on  a  perpetually  moving  platform, 
and  are  carried  to  other  parts  of  the  building  where  they  are 
stacked  in  piles.  The  waste  pieces  are  carried  away  by  the 
same  process,  so  that  within  ten  minutes  a  large  tree  that  is 
lying  dormant  in  the  water  finds  itself  cut  up  into  nice  planks 
and  piled  away  in  the  yard  ready  for  transportation,  and  that 
is  always  going  on  or  the  yard  would  be  crowded  out  in  a  day. 
They  worked  night  and  day  at  this  mill,  having  a  "  day  set  " 
and  a  "  night  set."  The  night  set  worked  by  electric  light. 

BROCKVILLE. — The  next  afternoon  found  us  at  Brockville, 
a  pleasant  little  town  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 


82 

THOUSAND  ISLANDS. — The  next  morning  we  took  the 
steamer  up  the  river  to  Kingston,  passing  through  the  1000 
Islands,  not  that  we  saw  1000  Islands,  but  what  we  did  see 
were  very  charming.  What  with  Swiss  and  Gothic  villas,  flags 
flying,  pretty  boats  with  coloured  awnings  and  bright  and 
merry  girls  rowing  them,  or  better  still,  being  rowed,  (a  privilege 
yet  remaining)  it  was  a  very  gay  and  captivating  scene.  We 
landed  about  2  p.m.  at  Kingston,  but  the  sun  was  so  tropical 
that  we  did  not  venture  out.  We  went  on  to  Toronto  by  the 
afternoon  train  arriving  there  in  the  dark. 

TORONTO. 

The  next  morning  (Sunday)  we  attended  service  in  the 
imposing  Metropolitan  Methodist  Church,  erected  mainly 
through  the  efforts  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Morley  Punshon. 
Another  thunder  storm  kept  us  in  nearly  all  the  afternoon. 
Toronto  is  a  very  beautiful  city,  situate  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Ontario.  The  streets  are  spacious  and  not  quite  so  disfigured 
by  the  telegraph  posts  as  are  those  of  Montreal.  The  mercan- 
tile and  public  buildings  are  very  commanding  and  beautiful 
edifices,  and  the  residential  part  of  the  city  is  laid  out  with 
great  taste  and  has  many  picturesque  and  charming  villas. 

TRADE  NOTICES.— In  one  of  the  principle  streets  of  the  city 
we,  were  amused  to  see  the  following  announcement  in  large 
letters  over  a  cabinet  makers  shop,  "  You  get  married  and  we'll 
feather  the  nest."  Often  in  the  States  we  came  across  some 
unique  and  comical  tradesmen's  notices ;  we  give  two  or  three : 
A  dyer  had  "I dye  to  live'1.  Over  a  "barber  shop"  was  "Tonsorial 
Saloon"  A  "  neckwear"  shop  had  the  following  :  "  A  prime  lot 
of  ladies  ties,  the  sale  goes  on  ;  another  big  cut  in  dry  goods"  If 


ties  are  "  dry  goods,"  wine,  &c.,  was  described  most  appro- 
priately as  •'  moist  goods."  In  a  shop  window  in  Buffalo,  full 
of  ties  there  were  about  a  dozen  large  hollowed  out  shovels 
with  these  words,  "scoop  em  out"  Anything  to  attract  atten- 
tion, even  if  it  has  not  much  significance.  Another  had  up, 
"  The  place  U  R  looking  4." 

ARCHITECTURE. — Altogether  Toronto  is  a  very  fine  city, 
(population  about  200,000)  and  well  deserves  her  title  of  the 
"  Queen  City."  The  Provincial  Parliament  House  is  a  noble 
and  dignified  building,  its  style  is  said  to  be  "  neo-Grecian," 
we  should  prefer  to  call  it  "neo- American,"  for  this  specimen, 
with  many  others  seen  in  the  States,  appears  to  develope  a  new 
feature  in  architecture,  essentially  different  to  anything  we  have 
either  in  England  or  Europe,  ancient  or  modern.  We  have 
been  bold  enough  to  suggest  that  it  might  be  called  the 
embodiment  of  the  log-hut  principle,  because  these  buildings 
have  massive  and  rustic  pillars  running  up  to  the  roof  at  the 
corners,  which  are  very  suggestive  of  immense  logs.  Another 
peculiarity  is  a  very  low,  and  expansive,  deep  set  arch  for  the 
principal  entrance ;  this  is  a  very  striking  feature,  bringing  out 
in  bold  relief  the  front  of  the  building  in  its  contrast  with  the 
shadow  of  the  arch.  The  principle  decorations  of  these  build- 
ings are  of  a  Runic  character. 

We  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  good  friends  at  Toronto  (after 
many  years  separation)  and  we  shall  long  cherish  the  enjoyment 
their  society  gave  us.  The  visit  was  enhanced  by  their  coming 
70  miles  to  see  us,  as  we  were  too  unwell  to  go  to  them.  We 
were  very  much  interested  in  looking  over  the  Methodist 
Victoria  College  with  our  good  friend  Professor  R. 


84 

NIAGARA. 

LAKE  ONTARIO.  —  Wednesday  noon  found  us  midway 
across  Lake  Ontario,  with  its  surface  as  placid  as  a  mirror,  and 
acting  as  a  mirror  in  reflecting  the  rays  of  an  August  semi- 
tropical  sun  soaring  in  a  cloudless  sky.  For  a  short  time  no 
land  was  to  be  seen  on  either  side.  This  lake  is  nearly  forty 
miles  broad  and  contains  an  area  of  over  7000  square  miles  ; 
it  might  not  inappropriately  be  called  an  inland  sea. 

We  were  not  long  before  we  found  ourselves  steaming 
against  a  strong  current  of  beautifully  clear  green  water,  up  the 
Niagara  River.  At  Lewiston  we  took  seats  in  the  electric  car 
and  rapidly  mounted  to  the  top  of  the  cliffs  on  the  right  side 
of  the  river,  passing  the  WHIRLPOOL,  here  the  river  makes  an 
abrupt  bend  ;  then  we  passed  the  WHIRLPOOL  RAPIDS,  where 
poor  Captain  Webb  lost  his  life  in  1883,  in  endeavouring  to 
swim  them.  These  rapids  are  a  very  imposing  sight,  for  all 
the  water  that  has  come  over  both  Falls  here  rushes  througha 
narrow  gorge,  the  waves  rising  in  tempestuous  fury,  sometimes 
to  a  height  of  twenty  feet  and  more.  When  there  is  an  abundance 
of  water  we  can  well  believe  that  the  rapids  almost  vie  with 
the  Fall  in  interest,  if  not  in  sublimity.  And  now  the  Falls 
appear  in  sight ! 

NIAGARA   FALLS. 

Waterfalls  are  very  much  dependent  upon  water  for  their 
effect.  That  is  an  axiom  which  no  one  will  dispute.  We  saw 
Niagara  twice ;  once  early  in  August,  when  the  water  in  the 
river  was  comparatively  low,  and  again  in  October  after  the 
autumnal  rainfalls,  when  the  volume  of  the  water  was  greatly 
augmented.  The  change  was  marvellous,  and  so  was  the 


85 

scene.  There  was  a  sparkle  and  crispness  in  the  air  that  made 
everything  bright.  The  hot  vapoury  mists  of  August  had  all 
been  blown  away ;  our  bodies  were  no  longer  languid,  but 
invigorated,  which  added  greatly  to  our  enjoyment.  The 
surrounding  foliage  was  all  ablaze,  as  if 

"  Autumn's  hand  had  hurled  the  brand 
Of  rich  decay,  through  flaming  woods." 

Niagara  is  at  all  times  beautiful  and  grand,  yet  from  the 
transformation  we  saw,  one  can  imagine  that  in  times  of  great 
floods  it  must  be  terribly  sublime.  It  was  not  sublime  when 
we  saw  it,  for  some  cause  or  another  the  water  in  the  river  has 
of  late  years  greatly  diminished.  Nevertheless  Niagara  will 
always  remain  the  king  of  cataracts  !  It  has  been  painted, 
and  described,  and  photographed  so  often  and  so  well,  that 
our  readers  are  probably  as  familiar  with  its  beauties,  its 
thunders,  and  its  roaring  avalanche  of  waters  as  we  are.  It  is 
so  vast  and  so  divided  that  one  fails  to  take  it  all  in  at  once — 
it  is  too  great  to  be  comprehended  at  a  glance.  It  must  be 
seen  above,  and  below ;  first  on  the  American  side,  and  then 
on  the  Canadian.  There  are  the  rapids  above  and  the  far 
more  imposing  "  Rapids  "  below.  One  goes  into  the  Cave  of 
Winds,  partly  beneath  the  American  Vail,  where  the  very  rocks 
shake  with  the  mighty  rush  of  waters,  and  the  ears  are  stunned 
with  their  defeaning  roar — drenching  spray  comes  down,  and 
the  visitor  would  be  saturated  where  it  not  for  the  waterproofs 
in  which  he  has  been  previously  encased.  Then  we  cross  to 
the  Canadian  side  and  look  down  from  the  Table  Rock  on  the 
deluge  of  waters  that  is  rushing  over  the  crest  of  the  Horse 
Shoe  Fall  into  the  yawning  abyss  below  It  is  a  very  chaos 
of  angry  waters,  leaping  and  fretting  madly,  billow  over  billow, 


86 

in  tempestuous  haste  to  crash  itself  against  the  rocks  below. 
See  the  glassy  emerald  wave  as  it  placidly  glides  over  the  shelf 
of  the  rock,  smooth  and  compact  for  a  moment,  and  then 
smashed  and  dashed  into  a  million  sparkling  sprays  of  silvery 
foam,  filling  the  air  with  a  veil  of  mist  that  partially  hides  the 
Fall  and  sprinkles  the  surrounding  ground  with  a  perpetual 
shower.  We  look  below  ;  the  waters  will  not  be  beaten  down. 
Crushed  and  broken  as  they  are,  they  recoil,  and  hurl  them- 
selves back  to  half  the  height  of  the  Falls,  in  clouds  of  fleecy 
whiteness,  and  then  tumble  down  in  angry  confusion,  rushing 
away  from  side  to  side,  leaping  over  obstructing  rocks,  and 
surging  up  from  the  troubled  depths  below.  It  is  a  wild,  a 
madding  sight.  It  is  here  that  one  sees  the  beauty  of  the 
Fall  and  realizes  its  majesty. 

For  a  few  hundred  yards,  away  rush  the  waters  in  eddying 
pools  of  greenest  hue,  flecked  here  and  there  with  white  foam, 
and  then  there  is  a  sudden  stillness,  and  silence,  and  the 
troubled  waters  become  as  placid  as  a  lake,  as  they  flow  wearily 
along,  like  a  wounded  creature  dragging  its  bruised  body  away 
from  some  deadly  encounter,  to  seek  a  place  of  shelter  and 
of  rest. 

SUSPENSION  BRIDGE. — Probably  the  best  general  view  that 
can  be  obtained  of  the  two  Falls  at  the  same  time,  is  from  the 
noble  Suspension  Bridge  that  spans  the  river  just  opposite  to 
the  Clifton  House  Hotel.  The  two  Falls  are  a  great  contrast 
the  one  to  the  other ;  the  American,  which  is  a  little  higher, 
and  very  regular,  almost  resembles  an  immense  wear,  while 
the  Canadian,  or  Horse  Shoe  Fall,  is  irregular  in  outline,  and 
is  rapidly  altering  its  shape;  the  breaking  away  of  the  rocks  over 
which  it  passes  is  considerable,  as  much  as  six  and  a  half  acres 


87 

in  the  central  part  of  it  having  been  washed  away  during  the 
last  fifty  years. 

THE  MAID  OF  THE  MIST. — Of  course  we  took  the  custom- 
ary trip  in  the  "  Maid  of  the  Mist"  (a  little  steamer)  and 
approached  as  near  to  the  foot  of  the  Horse  Shoe  Fall  as  is 
considered  prudent,  the  trip  is  however  perfectly  safe.  We 
cannot  say  that  this  is  the  best  point  to  see  the  Falls,  for  one  is 
so  blinded  with  the  spray,  and  so  deafened  with  the  roar,  that 
one  can  hardly  take  in  the  confused  mass  of  foaming  water  and 
rugged  rocks  around  us,  but  it  certainly  is  the  only  place  where 
the  true  grandeur  and  magnificence  of  the  Falls  can  be  fully 
realized.  A  few  yards  further  on  and  our  little  craft  would  be 
dashed  to  pieces  among  the  rocks,  or  swamped  by  the  torrents 
of  water  breaking  over  her ;  our  waterproofs  kept  us  perfectly 
dry  and  comfortable.  We  all  experienced  a  sense  of  relief 
when  the  little  boat  allowed  herself  to  be  slowly  carried  away 
down  stream  by  the  swirling  waters  around  her. 

A  CONTRAST. — It  was  while  we  were  passing  over  the 
Suspension  Bridge  that  our  eye  caught  sight  of  a  tinv  spider's 
web,  which  clung  in  strange  contrast  to  the  massive  steel 
wrought  wires  on  which  the  gigantic  bridge  is  hung.  These 
wires  are  buried  to  the  depth  of  forty  feet,  in  the  solid  rock 
that  girds  the  gulf  on  either  side,  so  that  the  very  foundations 
of  earth  would  have  to  be  rent  before  the  bridge  could  fall  into 
the  abyss  below.  For  a  moment  or  two  our  thoughts  dwelt  on 
the  solidity  and  strength  of  this  work  compared  with  that  of 
the  thin  and  flimsy  spider's  web  which  nevertheless  had  some 
appearance  of  strength  as  it  floated  to  and  fro  in  the  air,  with- 
out being  torn  asunder.  Such  we  remember  the  Bible  told  us 
is  the  "  hypocrite's  hope,"  it  is  like  a  spider's  web,  showy,  but 


88 

false.  How  different  to  the  massive  steel  supports  of  the  bridge 
bound  fast  to  the  rock,  and  which  neither  tempest  nor  storm, 
nor  heat  of  summer,  nor  frost  of  winter  could  touch,  because 
they  are  substantial  and  real.  Does  that  not  fairly  represent 
the  Christians'  hope,  especially  in  the  similarity,  that  it  rests 
upon  * '  the  Rock  "  for  its  strength  ? 

A  FATAL  ACCIDENT. — A  fortnight  before  our  first  visit  to 
Niagara  a  terrible  tragedy  had  been  enacted  there,  which  threw 
a  gloom  over  the  scene.  Two  lads  had  been  engaged  in  fish- 
ing in  the  river  above  the  upper  rapids.  A  terrific  thunder 
storm  broke  over  them  and  their  boat  was  driven  from  its 
anchorage.  Swiftly  the  river  bore  them  on,  and  the  howling 
hurricane  drove  them  down  the  raging  waters.  They  pulled  for 
very  life ;  it  was  life  or  death  to  them  ! — an  oar  broke,  and 
there,  helpless  and  exhausted  they  shouted  for  help,  but  they 
were  far  beyond  human  aid.  Death  alone  stared  these  two 
young  lads  in  the  face,  and  death  had  a  tight  grip  of  them. 
The  shuddering  spectators  watching  them  from  the  shore  saw 
the  brave  boat  riding  gallantly  for  a  moment  over  the  foaming 
waves  of  the  rapids,  and  in  another  instant  it  was  gone  !  lost 
to  sight  for  ever,  and  the  mists  of  the  falls  rolled  like  a  winding 
sheet  over  the  watery  grave  of  those  two  young  lives.  A  week 
after,  their  bodies  were  found  floating  and  eddying  round  and 
round  in  the  whirlpool  below. 

A  BURNING  SPRING.  —We  must  not  omit  to  mention  our 
visit  to  one  of  these  singular  freaks  of  nature  at  Niagara.  We 
saw  the  gas  collected  in  a  long  inverted  funnel  as  it  rose  out 
of  the  water  in  a  well,  and  when  a  light  was  applied  to  the 
narrow  part  at  the  top,  it  burnt  with  a  pale  blue  flame.  Then 
the  gas  at  the  top  of  the  water  was  lighted,  and  afterwards  we 


89 

were  invited  to  taste  a  glass  of  the  water,  which  was  not  at  all 
unpleasant  •  but  judge  of  our  astonishment  when  the  man 
applied  a  light  to  the  water  still  left  in  our  glass,  when  it  flared 
up  all  in  a  flame.  We  will  not  venture  to  describe  what 
thoughts  passed  through  one's  mind  as  to  our  own  inflamma- 
bility after  such  an  exhibition,  we  were  however  particularly 
careful  to  a  void  all  matches  and  lights  during  the  next  24  hours. 
ELECTRICITY. — Think  of  anyone  gazing  at  Niagara  and 
only  calculating  the  quantity  of  power  there  is  there,  that  might 
be  utilized  in  generating  electricity.  We  banished  the  thought 
instantly  as  profane.  A  recent  writer  however  has  filled  a 
whole  chapter  with  his  reflections  on  that  point.  Poor  Niagara  ! 
to  what  base  purposes  may  we  not  come. 

BUFFALO. 

Buffalo  is  only  a  short  ride  from  Niagara.  It  is  a  large,  popu- 
lous, (255,000)  and  important  city  and  industrial  centre.  It  has 
spacious  streets,  fine  public  buildings,  and  delightful  suburban 
residential  quarters.  It  has  also  two  very  fine  hotels.  The 
"  Iroquois  "  may  boast  of  having  the  swiftest  elevator  we  ever 
entered,  and  its  ill  effects  we  were  many  days  in  recovering 
from.  So  far  as  we  know  it  has  only  one  rival,  and  that  was 
the  "  cage  "  of  a  lead  mine  at  Butte  City.  We  were  invited  to 
go  down  by  that ;  it  is  as  well  that  we  declined,  or  this  interest- 
ing little  work  would  never  have  seen  daylight.  The  depth  of 
the  shaft  of  that  mine  was  1200  feet,  and  the  cage  descended 
in  45  seconds,  or  at  the  rate  of  26  feet  per  second,  enough  to 
produce  a  fatal  vertigo.  It  was  at  Buffalo  we  also  saw  the 
"  EMPIRE  TRAIN,"  labelled  "  The  fastest  train  in  the  world." 
While  we  were  in  the  States  however  we  saw  that  its  best 


9o 

record  had  been  considerably  beaten  in  England  by  the  North 
Western  and  Great  Northern  lines,  but  only  experimentally, 
and  not  as  a  permanency,  so  that  we  think  the  "  EMPIRE" 
still  retains  its  supremacy.  A  few  days  after,  we  made  (for  us) 
quite  a  record  journey,  leaving  Dunkirk  at  8-45  p.m.  and  arriv- 
ing at  Chicago,  nearly  500  miles,  at  9-15  a.m.,  pretty  nearly 
an  average  speed  of  40  miles  an  hour,  including  stoppages. 
This  train  carried  no  '*  baggage."  We  never  before  or  after 
got  over  a  journey  so  comfortably  and  quickly. 

DUNKIRK. — For  a  few  days  we  came  to  a  pleasant  anchor- 
age in  this  quiet  and  orderly  little  town  by  the  shore  of  Lake 
Erie,  in  the  home  of  one  of  our  friends  that  we  met  with  at 
Cannes.  It  was  gratifying  to  us  to  see  the  esteem  in  which 
our  friend  (a  former  Mayor)  was  held  by  his  neighbours.  It 
was  impossible  not  to  remark  it  when  one  walked  with  him  in 
the  wide  and  neatly  brick-paved  streets  of  the  town.  But  a 
more  striking  instance  occurred  one  afternoon  when  we  were 
out  for  a  walk.  A  sharp  shower  came  on,  compelling  us  to 
take  shelter  under  the  verandah  of  a  cottage.  The  good 
woman  of  the  house  brought  out  chairs  for  us ;  my  friend 
thanked  her,  to  which  she  replied,  "  Ah  !  Mr.  B.,  if  it  was 
made  of  gold  it  would  not  be  good  enough  for  you  !"  If  his  eye 
ever  sees  this,  he  must  pardon  us  for  referring  to  it,  but  it  did 
us  good  to  hear  it. 

ANOTHER  STORM. — Speaking  of  the  shower  reminds  us  that 
it  culminated,  after  our  arrival  at  our  friends,  in  another  terrible 
thunderstorm,  worse  than  any  of  its  predecessors.  An  Egyptian 
darkness  spread  over  the  town,  the  rain  came  down  in  torrents, 
the  lightning  was  most  vivid  and  apparently  close  to,  the 
thunder  was  terrific.  Suddenly  we  heard  the  fire  alarm,  or 


buzzer  go.  Four  times,  •*  there  is  a  fire,"  said  our  friend ; 
again  the  buzzer  sounded  twice.  "It  is  our  district,"  he 
remarked.  "  No  doubt  a  house  has  been  struck  by  the  light- 
ning." We  all  felt  the  nearness  of  the  danger.  Shortly 
afterwards  we  heard  that  a  small  house  had  been  struck  by  the 
lightning  and  burnt  down. 

75  THE  SUN  A  GLOBE  OF  FIRE  ? 

A  propos  of  these  thunderstorms  we  think  it  will  interest 
our  readers  to  lay  before  them  as  briefly  as  possible  a  theory 
concerning  the  heat  and  light  derived  from  the  sun,  which  we 
heard  while  staying  at  Dunkirk,  from  Dr.  Henry  Raymond 
Rogers  (a  former  lecturer  at  Chautauqua.)  The  excessively  hot 
weather  through  which  we  had  just  passed,  followed  by  those 
terrible  thunder,  or  rather  electric  storms,  may  have  prepared 
us  to  receive  favourably  Tiis  theory,  which  is  somewhat  as 
follows  : — 

The  highest  conception  of  modern  science  is,  that  the  sun 
"  is  a  vast  mass  of  incandescent  vapors  or  gases,"* — in  truth 
a  "fire  ball."  Against  this,  it  is  a  fact  that  heat  diminishes  as 
we  approach  the  sun.  The  sun  is  not  a  "  fireball,"  and  is  not 
in  itself  a  source  of  heat.  The  nearer  we  get  to  the  sun  and  the 
colder  it  becomes.  "  Snow  peaks  demonstrate  this."  It  is 
also  a  fact  that  light  diminishes  as  we  approach  the  sun.  At 
a  height  of  three  miles  the  sun  appears  no  brighter  than  the 
moon.  Sunlight  and  sun  heat  are  actually  confined  to  the 
earth's  very  surface. 

*  "New  Theories  of  the  Great  Physical  Forces,"  by  Hy.  Raymond  Rogers,  M.D., 
Dunkirk,  N.Y. 


92 

Aristotle  2300  years  ago,  "held  the  conception  that  but  a 
"  single  force  exists  in  nature,  that  every  form  and  manifesta- 
tion of  force  is  simply  a  transmutation  of  the  Great  Universal 
"  Force ;  he  tells  us,  all  changes  in  the  physical  world  may  be 
"reduced  to  motion.  All  terrestrial  phenomena,  every  con- 
"  ceivable  form  of  force  must  be  referable  to  the  impulse  of  the 
"  motions  of  the  heavenly  spheres" 

The  question  is,  how  can  this  motion  be  transmitted  into 
force  ? 

Two  thousand  five  hundred  years  ago  a  "  vital  essence  " 
was  revealed  unto  mankind,  which  seized  objects  and  drew 
them  to  itself  without  visible  agency.  This  they  called  "  The 
Amber  Life."  Thales  of  Miletus  records  its  birth  on  the  page 
of  science.  This  "  Amber  Soul "  became  the  "ONE  FORCE "  of 
Aristotle,  and  the  UNIVERSAL  FORCE  of  to-day,  which  we  call 
ELECTRICITY ! 

Electricity  is  not  a  self  existent  entity,  it  is  produced. 
"  The  earth  is  a  vast  magnet,  and  the  atmosphere  is  more 
"  magnetic  than  any  known  substance  except  iron,  nickel  and 
"  cobalt.  This  terrestrial  magnetic  ball  is  \huiS  filled  to  repletion 
"  with  this  stupendous  force.  The  whole  universe  is  made  up 
"  of  inconceivable  magnetic  force." 

"  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  .  .  .  that  this  stupendous  force 
is  for  actual  use."  Electric  currents  travel  the  93,000,000  of 
miles  between  the  earth  and  sun  with  perfect  facility .  A  magnet 
exposed  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  gains  strength  when  the 
north  po)e  is  exposed,  and  loses  it  when  the  south  pole  is 
exposed.  To  produce  these  effects  it  is  clear  that  the  sun's 
rays  must  be  electrical.  There  are  incessant  electrical  inter- 
actions between  the  sun  and  earth,  and  all  celestial  spheres. 


93 

Whence  the  source  of  the  electrical  supply  ?  "  It  is  a 
'•fundamental  principle  in  electrical  science  that  the  rotation 
"  of  bodies  opposite  to  magnets  induce  circulating  electric 
"currents.  Extending  this  law  .  .  .  the  inference  becomes 
"  legitimate  that  the  heavenly  spheres,  whirling  with  incon- 
"  ceivable  velocity  in  space,  evolve  between  them  electrical 
"  currents  in  great  cosmical  circuits  .  .  .  and  thus  become 
"actually  vast  dynamo-electric  machines  .  .  .  thus  is  verified 
"  that  grand  conception  of  Aristotle,  viz.,  that  the  UNIVER- 
SAL FORCE  has  its  sources  in  the  motions  of  the  celestial 
"  spheres." 

RESISTANCE  brings  into  manifestation  the  unseen  powers 
of  the  electric  current,  the  resistance  of  the  carbon-point  causes 
light  and  heat.  "  The  electric  currents  coming  incessantly 
"  from  the  sun,  through  the  darkness  and  cold  of  space,  find 
"  their  first  resistance  in  our  atmosphere,  which  becomes 
"  awakened  into  heat,  light,  and  power.  .  .  .  Without  being 
"itself  hot,  it  (the  sun's  electric  current)  develops  heat  in  our 
"  atmosphere,  and  without  being  itself  luminous  it  develops 
"  light  therein.  In  this  process,  is  therefore  demonstrably 
"shewn,  both  THE  SOURCE  AND  MODE  OF  DEVELOPMENT  OF 
"  SUNHEAT  AND  SUNLIGHT.  .  .  .  Thus  sunhcat  and  sunlight 
"  are  the  RESULTS  of  an  electric  system  "  on  a  stupendous 
scale,  and  the  sun  which  does  heat  and  light  the  earth  may 
"still  be  a  dark,  cool  and  habitable  body."  Dr.  Rogers  says 
it  is  inconceivable  to  think  that  "the  sun  a  million  and  a 
quarter  times  larger  than  the  earth,  should  be  set  as  a  furnace, 
or  a  fireball  specially  to  heat  this  little  earth." 

CHAUTAUQUA. — Our  friends  at  Dunkirk  were  very  kind  to 
us  in  making  several  pleasant  excursions.  One  of  them 


94 

was  to  Chautauqua,  a  little  place  on  a  charming  lake  of  that 
name,  a  few  miles  from  Dunkirk,  and  about  500  feet  above  Lake 
Erie.  It  is  here  that  the  "  Chautauqua  Assembly"  "  a  huge 
system  of  home-reading  circles  and  correspondence  classes," 
holds  its  annual  meeting  in  July  and  August  This  society 
has  spread  all  over  the  United  States  since  its  foundation  by 
Bishop  Vincent  (M.E.C.)  in  1878.  It  has  about  200,000 
members.  Our  English  Home  Reading  Union  is  founded  on 
the  same  model.  There  is  at  Chautauqua  a  very  large  sunken 
amphitheatre  capable  of  holding  3000  people  or  more,  where 
lectures,  recitations  and  concerts  are  given.  There  are  some 
very  pretty  villas,  and  each  District  or  Denomination  has  its 
own  quarters.  We  should  much  have  enjoyed  spending  a  few 
days  here.  We  were  introduced  to  several  nice  people,  and 
one  lady  hearing  that  we  were  English  immediately  placed  her 
carriage  at  our  disposal  (another  amenity). 

Those  were  happy  days  we  spent  with  our  friends  in  their 
charming  villa  with  its  well  kept  lawn  and  fine  shady  trees,  some 
of  them  ruddy  with  luscious  apples.  We  wish  to  place  it  on 
record  that  the  lawns  of  Dunkirk  were  the  best  mown  and  the 
trimmest  that  we  saw  in  America,  and  our  friend  was  awarded 
by  us  the  first  prize  for  his  well  kept  grass. 

CHICAGO. 

Twelve  hours  in  a  sleeping  car  brought  us  to  Chicago. 
Everybody  who  goes  to  America  visits  Chicago,  and  as  every- 
body went  to  Chicago  during  the  world's  fair,  there  is  really 
nothing  left  for  us  to  say  about  Chicago,  and  for  this  we  are 
deeply  grateful,  as  we  should  have  to  fill  page  after  page  about 
it,  for  Chicago  is  truly  a  colossal  city,  sheltering  more  than  a 


95 

million  souls.     We  are  glad  that  we  saw  so  little  of  New  York 
before  coming  to  Chicago,  for  it  made  all  the  greater  impres- 
sion  upon   us.      The  streets  were  wide,   and  long,  so   long 
is  one  street  that  we  recorded  No.   5745,  and  we  know  not 
how  far  beyond  that  it  went.     Some  of  the  commercial  build- 
ings rival  those  of  New  York,  being  22  to  23  stories  high,  and 
the  shops  chiefly  built  of  stone  in  State,  Wabash,  and  Maddi- 
son    Streets,   were   spacious    and  handsome,    and   filled    with 
richest   displays  of  costly  goods.     Here  the  streets  are  not 
disfigured  by  telegraph  posts.     It  was  a  bustling,  thriving  city. 
It  may  seem  strange  to  the  reader  for  us  to  note  that  what 
struck  us  most  in   Chicago  was  the  number — the  excessive 
number— of  chemists'  shops.     There  was  one  at  every  street 
corner.    In  commenting  upon  this  we  were  told  that  there  were 
no  less  than  6000  chemists'  shops  in  Chicago.     That  is  about 
i  shop  to  every  200  people.     How  do  they  make  a  living  ?    Are 
the  people  unhealthy  ?      Chicago  lies  low,    and   is  in  great 
measure  a  factitious  city,  having  been  made  partly  by  encroach- 
ments on  the  lake   (Lake    Michigan)  from  which  it  gets   its 
water  supply,  which  is  not  considered  to  be  too  good,  although 
we  believe  the  conduit  goes  out  into  the  lake/^r  some  miles,  so 
that  the  water  may  be  obtained  as  pure  as  possible.     It  was 
very  sultry  and  enervating  while  we  were  in  Chicago.    It  might 
be  well  if  our  English  chemists  would  take  example  from  their 
brethren  in   America.     Every  chemists'  shop  has  a  bar  (non- 
intoxicant  of  course)  for  the  supply  of  iced  drinks  of  every 
name,  colour,  taste,  and  description.    It  is  probably  the  "  bar  'r 
that  keeps  the  concerns  going,  especially  during  the  hot  weather. 
Chicago  lacks  fine  public  buildings,  (the  City  Hall  is  how- 
ever a  massive  and  imposing  structure)  but  it  excels  in  beautiful 


96 

parks  and  charming  drives — notably  Lake  Drive  and  Michigan 
Avenue  ;  and  Lincoln  Park  is  one  of  the  most  beautifully 
laid  out  parks  that  we  saw  in  the  States.  We  visited  the 
site  of  the  "  World's  Fair,"  and  were  much  struck  with  the 
beauty,  proportion  and  grandeur  of  the  Art  building,  and 
should  have  little  hesitation  in  saying  that  if  it  was  built  of 
stone  (instead  of  being  stuccoed)  it  would  rank  among  the  finest 
Greek  structures  in  the  world.  Whilst  there  we  witnessed  a 
most  unusual  sky  effect.  Long  after  sunset  the  heavens,  for 
one  third  of  their  area,  were  lit  up  by  a  beautiful  pink  glow, 
very  like  that  produced  by  the  Aurora  borealis,  and  such  as  we 
had  never  seen  before. 

STOCK  YARDS. — We  visited  Messrs.  Libby,  McNeill  and 
Libby's  Beef  Extract  Manufactory,  and  saw  the  various  pro- 
cesses, from  the  carcasses  that  are  brought  in  from  Swift's 
next  door,  to  the  making  of,  and  packing  in,  the  tins,  ready  for 
exportation.  The  ingenuity  manifested  in  some  of  the  opera- 
tions was  highly  interesting  and  clever.  We  saw  the  meat 
boiled  and  pounded  and  "  canned."  One  process  has  to  be 
performed  in  extreme  heat,  and  another  in  extreme  cold  in  a 
refrigerator.  Then  we  stepped  over  to  the  large  "  Abattoir  " 
of  Messrs.  Swift,  where  they  kill  1200  head  of  cattle  each  day  ; 
but  this  is  small  compared  to  the  number  of  hogs  that  Messrs. 
Fowler  Brothers,  Ltd.,  kill,  viz.,  12,000  each  day.  At  Swift's 
we  saw  them  kill  an  ox  (we  prefer  the  English  system  to  the 
one  in  vogue  here)  and  in  less  than  ten  minutes  from  the  fatal 
blow  being  given,  the  carcass  all  dressed  and  ready  for  market 
was  hanging  with  500  more  in  the  refrigerator.  The  work  is 
done  very  scientifically  and  expeditiously.  But  it  is  a  scene  of 
blood,  and  nearly  as  degrading  as  a  bull  fight,  only  one  is  a 
necessity  and  the  other  is  not. 


97 
ST.  PAUL— MINNEAPOLIS. 

Sixteen  hours  by  rail,  crossing  the  broad  waters  of  the 
Mississippi  at  La  Crosse,  brought  us  to  these  twin  cities  of  the 
prairies,  and  the  outposts  of  civilization.  We  have  called  them 
twin  cities,  they  were,  as  twins  usually  are,  born  at  the  same 
time,  viz.,  so  recently  as  1838,  and  now  contain,  S.  Paul  above 
133,000,  and  Minneapolis  above  170,000  inhabitants.  They 
are  only  ten  miles  apart,  and  are  fundamentally  joined  by  an 
electric  track,  so  that  they  might  not  inappropriately  be  termed 
the  Siamese  twin  cities,  and  before  many  years  (it  requires  no 
prophet  to  tell  it)  they  will  be  one  city  and  will  then  constitute 
a  formidable  rival  to  their  neighbour  Chicago.  They  are  both 
on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  We  stayed  at  charming 
Minneapolis,  a  bright  and  cheery  place,  evidently  with  plenty 
of  go  in  it.  It  is  the  greatest  flour  producing  place  in  the 
world,  turning  out  about  7,000,000  barrels  a  year.  We  were 
most  politely  shown  over  Messrs.  Pilsbury's  flour  mill.  The 
water  that  ought  to  form  the  beautiful  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  on 
the  Mississippi,  now  supplies  the  flour  mills  of  the  town  to  the 
extent  of  about  100,000  horse  power.  Nothing  but  dry  rocks 
(except  probably  at  great  floods)  now  mark  the  site  of  the  falls. 
It  makes  one  tremble  for  the  future  of  Niagara  !  We  stayed  at 
the  West  Hotel,  with  its  noble  central  quadrangle.  We  con- 
sider it  to  be  the  most  beautiful,  if  not  the  largest  hotel,  we 
stopped  at  out  of  New  York, 

OVER  THE  PRAIRIES. 

We  left  Minneapolis  at  9-30  a.m.  for  Banff  Springs,  Alberta, 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  were  44  hours  in  the  train ; 
travelling  1242  miles.  About  800  of  this  was  through  the 


98 

prairies  and  desert  wilderness.  Three  hundred  miles  away 
from  Minneapolis  we  bid  adieu  to  civilization  and  corn  fields, 
wheat  stacks  and  cottages,  and  committed  ourselves  to  the 
great  prairie  desert,  the  Plateau  du  Coteau  du  Missouri.  For 
400  miles  there  is  nothing  but  stunted  prairie  grass,  about  18 
inches  high,  on  either  side,  with  a  ridge  (being  three  turns  of 
a  plough)  running  along  each  side  of  the  rail  at  50  yards 
distance,  mile  after  mile,  for  hundreds  of  miles  in  that  one 
straight  line.  What  is  it  for  ?  It  is  called  a  "fire-break,"  and 
is  intended  to  prevent  the  fire  spreading  beyond  its  limits,  if 
the  grass  adjoining  the  rail  should  catch  fire,  during  the  hot 
weather,  from  sparks  or  cinders  dropped  from  the  engine.  We 
thought  at  times  that  we  saw,  during  the  night  on  the  earlier 
part  of  the  journey,  many  prairie  fires,  but  we  were  told  that 
they  were  only  straw  stacks  on  fire.  They  have  such  an  abun- 
dance of  straw  from  the  crops  that  the  only  way  to  get  rid  of 
it  is  to  burn  it. 

It  is  very  much  like  being  at  sea,  this  crossing  the  prairie, 
and  at  sunset  the  effect  is  intensely  like  it,  for  a  mirage  takes 
place  which  seems  to  throw  the  most  distant  parts  of  the 
prairie,  towards  the  east,  into  the  air  as  if  they  were  the  islands 
of  some  vast  sea.  We  met  nothing,  we  passed  nothing,  save 
about  every  20  miles  we  saw  the  plate-layer's  cottage  rising 
like  a  lighthouse  on  the  watery  waste  to  guide  us  on  our  course ; 
but  we  did  cross,  as  it  were  in  mid  ocean,  the  wakes  of  four 
great  prairie  railroad  "tracks"  going  East  and  West,  while 
ours  was  speeding  due  North. 

At  5  p.m.  we  entered  the  State  of  North  Dakota,  a  prohibition 
State,  and  while  passing  through  it  no  intoxicating  liquors  are 
allowed  to  be  sold  in  the  train,  not  even  at  dinner  time.  The 


99 

entrance  to  this  State  is  marked  by  the  dried  up  bed  of  a  river, 
all  covered  with  grass.  One  could  not  tell  that  it  had  been  a 
river,  excepting  for  a  bridge  that  crossed  it.  Sixteen  years  ago 
it  was  a  navigable  stream  to  Winnipeg,  more  than  300  miles 
away.  They  say  the  country  here  is  gradually  drying  up,  and 
this  was  evidenced  by  the  number  of  lakes  and  pools  that  we 
saw  nearly  all  dried  up,  and  leaving  a  white  alkaline  deposit 
on  the  top.  At  one  time  we  went  for  fully  70  miles  as  straight 
as  an  arrow  could  fly,  and  for  200  more  we  went  on  in  this 
prairie  ocean,  into  the  dark  night,  and  alone,  for  we  were,  with 
one  other,  the  only  occupants  of  the  sleeping  car.  We  passed 
through  two  more  terrific  thunder  storms,  one  at  n  p.m.  and 
the  other,  miles  away,  at  2-30  a.m.  About  5  o'clock  a.m.  we 
entered  Canada  at  Portal,  light  luggage  was  examined,  heavy 
baggage  was  to  be  examined  at  Banff.  About  10  a.m.  we 
began  to  see  signs  of  approaching  habitable  land,  as  floating 
seaweed  indicates  the  nearness  of  a  shore.  These  were  birds  and 
huts,  and  stacks  and  cattle,  seen  at  long  intervals,  and  by  and 
by  corn  fields.  About  n  a.m.  we  reached  Moose  Jaw  and 
joined  the  main  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  The  place  con- 
sists of  about  50  or  60  small  houses ;  it  is  about  900  feet 
higher  than  Minneapolis,  and  the  air  was  fresh  and  bracing. 
We  are  here  more  than  1500  miles  from  Toronto,  and  were  a 
little  surprised  to  see  a  Salvation  Army  girl  selling  the  "  War 
Cry  "  at  the  station. 

Whilst  crossing  the  '*  Plateau"  we  had  on  the  east  side 
of  us  the  Red  River,  which  flows  north,  and  on  the  west  side 
we  had  the  Missouri  River,  which  flows  south,  and  which 
takes  its  rise  in,  or  near  to,  the  Yellowstone  Park. 

A  DAILY  NEWSPAPER. — The  Directorate  of  the  Canadian 


100 

Pacific  Railway  are  very  considerate  to  their  passengers  who 
are  pent  up  in  a  train  for  four  or  five  days  without  a  chance  of 
seeing  a  newspaper.  Every  morning  there  is  telegraphed  from 
Montreal  to  two  or  three  stations  on  the  line  where  the  out- 
ward trains  will  stop,  the  news  of  the  day  to  the  extent  of  10 
or  12  pages  of  post  letter  paper,  so  that  the  traveller  is  kept 
aufait  with  the  current  events  of  the  day. 

BUFFALOES. — Buffaloes,  like  the  Red  Indians,  are  almost 
extinct,  except  where  they  are  specially  preserved  in  "  reserva- 
tions," the  sad  havoc  that  the  rifle  has  played  with  the  former 
in  these  prairies  is  evidenced  by  the  immense  piles  of  buffalo 
horns  and  bones  to  be  seen  at  some  of  the  stations  we  pass ; 
these  are  awaiting  transit  for  the  purpose  of  being  ground  up 
for  fertilizing  the  land.  We  passed  a  little  but  important  town, 
situated  in  a  great  round  hole,  which  bore  the  singular  name 
of  "Medicine  Hat" 

THE  ROCKIES. 

On  we  speed  in  the  night,  and  about  4  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing we  arrive  at  Calgary.  It  is  time  to  leave  our  berth,  for 
we  are  just  aboutjto  enter  the  Rockies.  We  were  now  4000 
feet  high.  At  Canmore  an  "observation  car"  was  put  on.  It 
was  terribly  cold  at  that  hour  turning  out  into  an  open  carriage. 
[f  it  had  been  three  hours  later  and  the  sun  had  been  shining 
we  might  have  said'that  we  were  amply  repaid,  for  the  entrance 
into  these  rugged  rocks  is  truly  grand.  One  could  not  fail  to 
notice  a  lofty  triple  peaked  range,  (9705  ft.)  which  is  called 
the  "Sisters,"  [and  resembled  (but  on  a  larger  scale)  the 
mountains  of  that  name  in  Glencoe.  Then  the  sun  aroused 
himself  and  began  to  burnish  the  tops  of  the  surrounding  hills. 


IOI 


We  saw  but  very  little  snow.  All  the  summits,  sharp,  round 
or  jagged,  looked  arid,  and  as  if  dried  up  and  withered  by 
the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun.  At  6  a.m.  we  arrived  at 

BANFF  SPRINGS. — The  situation   of  the  hotel  is  very  fine, 
and  considering  the  height,  4500  feet,  it  is  a  very  commodious 
and  comfortable  hostelry.     The  weather  was  delightful,  the  air 
pure  and  bracing,  but  hot  at  times,  74°  in  the  sun.     We  spent 
four  very  delightful  days  here,   for  there  are  many  interesting 
places  to  be  seen.     During  the  last  night   but  one  there  came 
on  a  snow  storm,  and  when  we  looked   out  of  the  window  in 
the  morning,  the  scene  was  entirely  changed.    The  arid  moun- 
tains had  all  vanished  and  a  truly  glorious  and  Alpine  scene 
presented  itself.     The   Rockies  went  up  100  per  cent,  in  our 
estimation.     The  change  was  marvellous.     It  is  impossible  for 
our  pen  to  describe  the  interest   excited  in  our  minds  by  the 
beauty  of  the  scene.     We  went  on  by  rail  to  Glacier  the  next 
day  ;  the  enjoyment  would  have  been  perfect  if  we  had  not 
been  compelled  to  turn  out  in  the  dark  and  bitter  cold  at  half- 
past  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  to  catch  the  six  o'clock  train, 
the  one  train  of  the  day.     Oh  !  considerate  Directors  of  the 
C.P.R.,  can  it  not  be  so  arranged  that  at  Banff,  the  chief  place 
of  interest  on  the  line,   and  where  most  travellers  break  their 
journey,  the  train   might  arrive  and  also  leave  at  a  more  con- 
venient hour  of  the  day  than  six  o'clock  in  the  morning.    Why 
not  let  it  be  nine  o'clock?     Nevertheless,  cold  as  it  was — for 
there  was  a  keen  frost— the  ride  from   Banff  to  the  "  Great 
Divide  "  in  the  open  observation  car  was  a  great  delight.    The 
air  was  crisp  and  clear,  but  here  and  there  a  few  low  clouds 
clung  midway|up  the  mountain  sides,  sometimes  hiding  and 
sometimes    revealing   their   graceful    and   picturesque   forms. 


102 

Never  have  we  seen  more  beautiful  and  fantastic  shaped 
mountains.  Here  we  have  a  huge  rock  rising  many  thousand 
feet,  covered  with  forts  and  towers,|like  a  Rhenish  rock  with  its 
old  Baronial  castles.  This  is  aptly  called  the  "  Castle  Rock." 
Another  stately  and  majestic  rock  rises  like  a  Titanic  cathedral 
with  its  silvery  mantle  of  snow  clinging  to  its  towers  and  grace- 
ful pinnacles,  and  lurking  in  its  deep  grooved  niches.  We  let 
our  fancy  run  free  and  kept  on  building  "  castles  in  the  air,'7 
but  of  a  very  substantial  character.  The  climax  was  reached 
when  Mount  Lefroy  reared  its  imposing  snow  clad  summit  into 
the  blue  air  11,000  feet  and  more  above  the  sea.  Then  we 
came  in  the  midst  of  a  snowstorm  to  the  "  Great  Divide," 
where  the  summit  5295  feet  high  is  reached,  and  where  the 
waters  run  east  and  west  to  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.  We 
rattle  down  the  "  Kicking  Horse"  Pass  and  soon  leave  the 
snow  storm  behind  us,  and  3000  feet  lower,  we  enter  the  smiling 
valley  watered  by  the  Columbia  River.  We  have  now  entered 
British  Columbia.  We  keep  the  Columbia  River  with  us  for 
some  time,  crossing  and  recrossing  it,  and  then  leaving  it  and 
meeting  with  it  hundreds  of  miles  away  further  south.  The 
Columbia  River  might  well  have  borne  the  name  of  one  of  its 
tributaries  "  Snake  River,"  by  reason  of  its  serpentine  course. 
Our  next  resting  place  was 

GLACIER. — As  its  name  denotes  is  a  glacier  and  not  a 
town.  There  is  only  the  hotel  here,  and  a  pleasant  little  place 
it  is.  Every  one  should  stop  here  a  day  at  least.  The  scenery 
is  grandly  Alpine.  The  mountains  of  the  Selkirk  range  are 
of  much  the  same  height  as  those  of  the  Rockies,  but  they 
appear  higher,  and,  having  their  summits  covered  with  perpetual 
snow  and  their  sides  cumbered  with  glaciers,  they  look  more 


io3 

imposing.  "Sir  Donald"  (10,621  ft.)  reigns  supreme  amid 
these  icy  peaks,  but  in  our  opinion  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
group  is  "  Mount  Macdonald  "  (9940  ft.)  We  think  it  is  the 
beau  ideal  ol  a  mountain.  For  grace  of  form,  for  stupendous 
precipices,  for  sombre  pine  clad  slopes,  and  deep  ravines, 
luminous  with  glacial  snows,  it  is  unrivalled  ;  yet  withal  it  is 
majestic,  for  its  crystal  pinnacle  of  ice^breaks  through  the  girdle 
of  clouds  that  encircles  it,  and  seems  to  pierce  the  very  skies,  as 

" — Alp  meets  heaven  in  snow," 

The  weather  was  very  cold  at  Glacier,  36°  at  9  a.m.,  and 
we  had  frequent  snow  storms ;  nevertheless  we  went  through 
the  beautiful  forest  with  its  magnificent  pine  trees,  often  8  or 
9  feet  in  circumference,  the  result  of  the  warm  and  constant 
showers  from  the  Pacific.  It  was  here  we  first  saw  in  America 
our  own  vulgar  bracken,  and  we  do  not  remember  afterwards 
seeing  it  elsewhere.  The  wet  bracken  and  high  weeds  that 
border  the  narrow  footpath  render  the  way  almost  impassable. 
Again  we  appeal  to  the  considerate  C.P.R.  Directors  to  remedy 
this.  One  man  could  mow  them  all  down  in  two  or  three 
days.  After  passing  through  this  forest  and  crossing  the  river 
on  our  way  to  the  Glacier,  we  came  to  the  scene  of  an  enor- 
mous avalanche,  where  the  huge  trunks  of  the  shattered  trees 
are  thrown  about  in  the  wildest  confusion,  like  the  dead  on  a 
battle  field.  A  little  beyond  this  we  came  in  full  view  of  the 
glacier,  and  a  magnificent  sight  it  was,  but  we  have  seen  many 
quite  as  picturesque.  Our  guide  told  us  that  this  was  the 
largest  glacier  in  the  world,  and  as  big  as  all  the  glaciers  in 
Switzerland  put  together.  He  had  been  to  the  end  of  it,  35 
miles  distant,  and  it  took  the  party  five  days  to  explore  it. 
Baedeker  is  discreetly  silent  upon  the  point,  and,  as  we  had  no 
desire  to  enter  into  a  controversy  on  the  subject,  so  were  we. 


104 

We  walked  on  the  "  track  "  to  one  of  the  great  snow  sheds 
and  examined  its  solid  framework.  At  each  shed  there  is  a 
good  supply  of  water  kept  in  case  of  fire.  In  the  valley  below 
we  saw  the  lairs  made  by  the  bears  in  the  long  grass  the  night 
before.  Then  we  walked  down  the  "  track"  to  see  the  famous 
"  Loop."  Great  freedom  is  allowed  in  walking  on  the  railway, 
in  fact  if  it  was  not,  there  would  be  no  place  to  walk  on,  as 
there  is  no  other  road  to  or  from  Glacier. 

The  train  from  the  West  was  seven  hours  late  owing  to  a 
land  slip  in  the  Fraser  Canyon.  The  engine  driver  had  his 
leg  broken  ;  this  was  not  encouraging  for  us  as  we  had  to  pass 
through  the  Canyon  on  the  morrow. 

After  we  passed  the  "  Loop  "  the  journey  down  west  was 
not  very  interesting.  The  train  stopped  for  a  few  minutes  to 
allow  us  to  get  out  to  see  the  Albert  Canyon,  a  short  but  pretty 
and  romantic  cleft  in  the  rock,  with  a  torrent  rushing  through 
some  200  feet  below  us.  We  passed  probably  more  trees  in 
the  24  hours  of  this  journey  than  we  passed  in  all  the  other 
journeys  put  together.  The  extreme  moisture  favours  growth, 
the  mountains  were  covered  with  trees  to  their  tops.  Here 
and  there  millions  had  been  burnt  by  lightning,  Indians  or 
Trackers,  leaving  nothing  but  bare  poles  to  disfigure  the  land- 
scape. We  passed  the  night  in  the  train,  and  at  7  o'clock  the 
next  morning  we  reached  and  passed  through 

THE  FRASER  CANYON! 

Nature  has  been  very  lavish  in  bestowing  many  of  her  most 
beautiful  works  on  the  great  American  Continent.  Not  the 
least  of  these  is  the  grand  Canyon  of  the  Fraser  River.  We 
saw  it  by  early  morning  lights,  which  brought  out  its  promin- 


ences  and  threw  into  shadow  its  clefts.  The  Canyon  is  a 
wild,  narrow  gorge,  from  30  to  40  miles  long,  the  cliffs  rising 
on  either  side  from  50010  1000  feet  high.  These  rocks  are 
bare  and  rugged  in  parts,  but  more  generally  are  covered  with 
the  most  beautiful  foliage.  A  rapid  river  dashes  down  its 
centre  at  least  200  feet  below  the  "  track."  Much  gold  is 
gathered  in  the  sand  beds  of  this  river.  The  scenery  is  grand 
and  impressive,  and  yet  there  is  more  of  grace  and  poetry  in  its 
winding  curves  and  softly  wooded  slopes  than  of  grandeur. 
At  Hellgate  Rapids  the  river  is  pent  up  between  two  Cyclo- 
pian  rocks,  one  on  either  side,  and  becomes  a  tumult  of  angry 
raging  cataracts.  It  is  very  beautiful  and  romantic  here,  the 
rocks  are  wild  and  savage,  and  very  high.  The  scenery  is 
none  the  less  picturesque,  by  reason  of  our  passing  from  time 
to  time  groups  of  Chinese  gathered  about  their  cabins,  upon 
the  outer  walls  of  which  are  conspicuous  signs  in  native  red 
characters.  Anon  we  pass  an  Indian  village;  the  squaws 
cease  from  their  toil,  and  with  their  pappooses  gaze  at  the 
passing  train.  The  Indians  are  either  spearing  the  red  salmon 
in  the  river  or  drying  it  on  the  rocks.  Two  squaws  on  horse- 
back, astride,  are  passing  by  their  native  burying  ground,  with 
its  quaint  emblems  and  tawdry  flags,  and  rein  in  their  horses 
and  look  stolidly  while  we  fly  past.  The  little  churches  seen 
here  and  there  betoken  the  presence  of  the  Missionary 
amongst  the  Indians  in  these  wild  and  remote  districts.  This 
reference  reminds  us  of  a  little  girl  whose  father  was  a  mission- 
ary in  Africa,  she  said,  "  We  do  not  like  his  being  in  Africa, 
because  the  natives  kill  and  eat  each  other,  and  they  call  them 
cannonballs" 


io6 

TACOMA. 

That  same  Saturday  evening  we  found  ourselves  comfortably 
quartered  in  the  hotel  "  Tacoma,"  at  Tacoma,  in  the  State  of 
Washington.  We  were  warmly  greeted  and  welcomed  by 
friends  who  expected  our  arrival.  We  spent  three  days  there, 
which  would  have  been  most  enjoyable  if  it  had  not  been  for 
the  sudden  and  serious  illness  of  a  member  of  our  friend's 
family.  Tacoma  is  charmingly  situated  on  Puget  Sound.  It 
is  a  thriving  and  increasing  city  of  60,000  inhabitants,  having 
an  extensive  trade  in  corn  and  timber.  Twenty  years  ago  its 
name  was  not  to  be  found  on  a  map ;  it  bids  fair  now  to 
become  the  Boston  of  the  west,  if  it  grows  in  the  same  ratio 
that  it  has  done  during  the  past  ten  years.  It  has  good  wide 
streets,  rising  in  terraces  one  above  the  other,  a  fine  city  hall, 
and  many  good  buildings.  We  saw  its  first  little  church,  built 
in  one  night,  of  wood  ;  the  trunk  of  an  adjoining  growing  tree 
clustered  over  with  ivy  does  service  as  its  tower,  and  is  capped 
with  a  small  belfry.  We  saw  a  curious  sight  in  the  principal 
street  of  the  town  which  may  astonish  the  reader  as  much  as 
it  did  us  ;  they  were  ploughing  the  street  with  a  four-horse 
plough,  not  however  for  agricultural  .purposes,  but  simply  to 
level  it,  so  as  to  receive  the  concrete  for  the  pavement. 

We  visited  the  Horticultural  Museum,  which  contained 
splendid  specimens  of  plums,  apples,  and  other  fruits  grown  in 
the  State  of  Washington.  We  were  particularly  struck  with 
the  size  of  a  grass  called  "Timothy,"  and  with  the  strength, 
length  (6  and  7  feet)  and  thickness  (\  of  in.)  of  the  stalks  of 
corn,  millet  and  oats,  they  were  almost  like  miniature  bamboo 
canes.  We  only  paid  2\  peace  for  three  large  peaches  as  big 
as  one's  fist.  There  is  a  curious  practice  in  these  new  West- 


107 

ern  cities,  they  have  no  coin  of  less  value  than  a  nickel  (2$ 
pence).  Cents  are  unknown  there,  and  so,  almost,  are  "  green- 
backs," nearly  all  payments  being  made  in  silver.  Gold  is  not 
a  usual  medium  of  payment  anywhere  ;  during  our  tour  we  had 
only  on  two  occasions  payments  made  to  us  in  gold,  and  then 
only  for  5  dollars.  We  were  told  that,  in  some  of  the  new 
cities,  nothing  less  than  "quarters"  (that  is  shillings)  are 
current,  and  it  is  related  that  a  lady  visiting  one  of  them  left 
in  disgust  because  they  took  less  than  a  dollar  in  payment  for 
something  that  she  had  purchased.  The  International  Yacht 
Race  was  run  while  we  were  at  Tacoma,  and  bulletins  describ- 
ing the  race  as  it  went  on  were  affixed  to  the  telegraph  posts 
opposite  the  newspaper  office  within  eight  minutes  of  the  evewts 
occurring,  although  they  were  3000  miles  away.  The  heat  was 
still  great  while  we  were  at  Tacoma.  We  suggested  how 
pleasant  it  would  be  to  have  a  bathe1  in  the  Pacific.  To  our 
surprise  we  were  told  no  one  ever  bathes,  the  water  is  too  cold. 
We  tried  to  solve  this  problem  and  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  so  cold,  owing  to  the  immense  icebergs  that  are 
always  breaking  off  at  Alaska  and  floating  down  the  coast. 
Our  readers  will  hardly  credit  what  we  are  about  to  narrate, 
but  several  ladies  from  San  Francisco  told  us  that,  the  two 
coldest  months  in  the  year  there  are  July  and  August.  This 
no  doubt  arises  also  from  the  proximity  of  the  Alaska  icebergs. 
MOUNT  TACOMA. — We  had  a  great  disappointment  during 
our  stay  :  owing  to  the  dense  smoke  arising  from  the  forest  fires 
(there  were  fires  in  every  direction)  we  were  unable  to  see  that 
most  beautiful  mountain  "Tacoma,"  which  is  14,444  feet  high, 
and  is  capped  with  eternal  snow,  which  feeds  14  "living 
glaciers  "  on  its  slopes.  It  rises  sublimely  out  of  the  Cascade 


io8 

Range  which  reaches  an  altitude  only  of  6000  ft.,  and  it  stands 
alone  in  its  grandeur.  We  did  however  just  catch  a  glimpse 
of  its  summit.  From  the  same  cause  we  did  not  see  "  Mount 
Baker,"  (10,800  ft.)  or  "  Mount  Hood,"  (11,200)  or  "  Mount 
St.  Helen's,"  (9750  ft.)  all  isolated  mountains  and  many  miles 
apart  from  each  other. 

PORTLAND,  Or. 

T^he  journey  between  Tacoma  and  Portland  has  several  points 
of  interest:  The  "  tracks  "  pass  through  some  forests  with 
very  large  pine  trees,  probably  from  12  to  16  feet  in  circum- 
ference and  proportionately  high.  Many  of  these  trees  were 
on  fire,  and  as  night  came  on  their  lurid  glare  gave  a  weird 
aspect  to  the  scene  and  almost  raised  a  feeling  of  anxiety  and 
alarm.  About  three  hours  or  so  from  Tacoma  the  line  wound 
round  a  projecting  cliff,  the  formation  of  which  closely  resembled 
basaltic  columns.  The  climax  of  interest  however  was  reached 
when  we  neared  the  banks  of  the  broad  Columbia  River  (our 
old  friend  of  the  "  Selkirks,"  and  now  many  hundred  miles 
from  that  district,  and  but  few  from  the  ocean)  which  is  here 
probably  about  half  a  mile  wide.  The  engine  and  train  con- 
sisting of  13  carriages  ran  in  three  sections  bodily  on  to  a 
steamer,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  were  in  Oregon  State  and 
speeding  away  to  Portland,  where  we  arrived  after  9  o'clock 
p.m.  in  the  rain.  It  rained  all  the  next  day.  The  aunual  rain- 
fall here  is  53  inches.  Portland  is  an  important  little  city  and 
port  (60,000.)  The  "  Portland  "  hotel  seemed  however  to  be 
the  finest  building  in  the  town.  The  streets,  cutting  each 
other  at  right  angles  as  usual,  were  well  laid  out,  and  altogether 
the  place,  notwithstanding  the  rain,  had  a  pleasant,  busy  and 


io9 

cheerful  appearance.  The  next  night  we  left  by  the  train  for 
Spokane  Falls.  At  first  we  followed  the  winding  banks  of  the 
Columbia  for  many  miles,  and  as  the  moon  was  brightly  shin- 
ing this  part  of  the  journey  was  somewhat  interesting.  During 
the  day  we  traversed  a  very  good  agricultural,  undulating 
country,  where  much  corn  is  grown. 

SPOKANE  FALLS. — We  reached  this  place  towards  evening, 
and  just  in  time  to  visit  the  stupendous  gorge  through  which 
the  "Falls"  have  made  their  way.  We  say  "have,"  for  the 
manufacturing  energy  of  the  day  has  deprived  the  falls  of  their 
glory.  Another  thrill  passes  through  us  as  we  think  of  the 
impending  fate  of  Niagara  !  We  had  a  good  night's  rest  in 
another  of  those  wonderful  and  spacious  Western  hotels,  and 
at  9  a.m.  we  were  in  the  train  crossing  a  short  prairie,  then 
winding  by  the  side  of  the  Lake  Pend  d'orielle  preparatory 
to  crossing  the  Rockies  on  our  way  to  the  Yellowstone  Park. 
Ours  was  a  single  track,  and  the  night  before  we  had  heard  of 
a  terrible  accident,  (or  "  wreck/'  as  they  call  it)  by  collision 
on  a  single  line  railway,  which  notice  was  announced  in 
very  significant  terms  on  the  hotel  notice  board,  as  "Train 
abandoned." 

TUNNEL  ON  FIRE. — It  did  not  add  to  our  comfort  when 
the  conductor  informed  us  about  7  o'clock  p.m.  that  a  tunnel 
which  we  ought  to  pass  through  about  5  a.m.  next  day  was  on 
fire.  The  vision  of  the  Park  seemed  very  far  off,  as  this  was 
Friday  night,  and  we  had  looked  forward  to  a  pleasant  rest 
there  on  the  Sunday.  However  at  5  a.m  we  reached  the 
entrance  to  the  tunnel,  which  had  been  banked  up,  and  were 
all  told  to  turn  out.  The  morning  was  beautifully  fine  when 
we  left  the  train,  and  the  sun  was  shining  brightly.  It  was  a 


no 

clear  mid-September  morning,  and  we  quite  enjoyed  our 
transit  across  the  mountain  over  an  impromptu  road  in  a 
'•  stage  "  (coach)  with  four  horses.  How  thankful  we  were  that 
our  accident  was  not  like  that  of  the  previous  day.  Let  us 
here  add  that  in  the  15,000  miles  we  travelled  from  leaving 
England  to  arriving  back  in  Liverpool  we  neither  of  us  received 
a  scratch  or  a  bruise.  We  reached  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs 
Hotel  about  3  p.m.,  being  five  hours  late.  On  approaching 
Cinnabar  we  passed  a  singular  formation  on  the  mountain  side 
called  the  "  Devil's  Slide."  It  is  formed  by  two  walls  of  rock 
probably  150  feet  high  and  30  feet  apart,  and  4  to  6  feet  thick, 
which  run  up  the  mountain  side  for  2000  feet,  making  quite  an 
enclosed  passage.  The  rock  formerly  between  and  outside 
the  two  walls  of  hard  sandstone  must  have  been  of  softer 
strata  and  have  been  gradually  washed  away.  In  driving  up 
from  Cinnabar  to  the  hotel  we  passed  an  eagle's  nest  perched 
on  a  lofty  pinnacle  of  rock. 

THE    YELLOWSTONE  PARK. 

We  may  say  that  the  Yellowstone  Park  was  the  apex  of  our 
desire,  in  sight  seeing,  in  America.  So  far  as  the  picturesque 
was  concerned  it  was  the  magnet  that  attracted  us,  and  we 
were  not  disappointed.  We  suppose  it  is  no  exaggeration  to 
say  that  the  Park  is  the  most  interesting  and  most  wonderful 
place  in  the  world. 

To  call  it  a  "  Park  "  is  a  misnomer,  as  it  is  above  6000 
square  miles  in  extent.  It  is  large  enough  to  be  a  State,  but 
its  only  inhabitants  in  winter  (as  it  lies  at  an  elevation  of  from 
6000  to  8000  feet)  are  buffaloes,  elks,  deer,  bears,  wolves, 
foxes,  skunks,  porcupines,  beavers,  hares,  rabbits,  eagles, 


Ill 


storks,  herons,  wild  swans,  geese,  ducks,  and  innumerable  wild 
fowl  of  every  description  ;  as  a  fact  we  saw  all  these  excepting 
the  buffaloes  (which  go  up  into  the  higher  mountains  in  the 
summer)  and  the  beavers,  but  we  saw  the  dams  the  beavers  had 
so  ingeniously  constructed  in  the  streams.  So  abundant  have 
stags  been  in  the  Park,  that  a  fencing  has  been  made  with  their 
horns,  round  a  large  piece  of  ground  in  front  of  the  Hotel  at 
Mammoth  Hot  Springs. 

A  NATURAL  ZOOLOGICAL  GARDEN.— Truly  the  Park  is  a 
gigantic  zoological  garden.  As  no  shooting  is  allowed,  and  as. 
the  animals  are  not  permitted  to  be  molested  in  any  way,  they 
become  so  docile  that  the  traveller  may  say  with  Alexander 
Selkirk,  "  their  tameness  is  shocking  to  me."  The  bears  are 
so  domesticated  that  they  come  up  to  the  hotels  to  be  fed,, 
and  sometimes  when  driven  by  hunger  they  have  been  found 
invading  the  larder.  A  waitress  at  the  "  Fountain  Hotel "" 
told  us  that  one  evening  she  went  out  for  a  stroll  in  the  lane, 
when  suddenly  she  saw  a  bear  trotting  towards  her  as  fast  as 
he  could.  In  order  to  frighten  him  she  lifted  up  her  apron 
and  shook  it  at  him.  But  old  Bruin  was  too  knowing  to  be 
frightened  by  a  girl;  he  was  quite  conscious  that  no  one  dare 
hurt  him,  so  on  he  came  trotting  and  trotting,  and  instead  of 
the  bear  being  frightened,  he  frightened  the  girl,  and  she  fled 
as  fast  as  she  could  into  the  house  and  bolted  the  door.  To 
give  other  instances  of  this  indifference  to  man,  on  one  occa- 
sion, while  on  the  coach,  we  passed  a  fox  about  a  hundred 
yards  off,  worrying  a  rabbit,  and  he  just  looked  up  at  the 
coach  as  much  as  to  say,  "  oh  !  its  only  you,  is  it,"  and  went 
on  devouring  his  prey,  never  attempting  to  make  a  retreat. 
Another  time  a  fine  porcupine  came  down  to  a  part  that  was 


112 

usually  much  frequented  by  visitors,  and  quietly  got  up  into  a 
tree  and  allowed  itself  to  be  gazed  at  by  us.  He  evidently 
knew  that  the  soldier  (one  of  the  guardians  of  the  park)  who 
was  standing  by  would  see  that  no  harm  came  to  him. 

BOILING  SPRINGS. — These  are  but  one  interesting  feature 
of  the  Park  which  abounds  with  the  wonderful  in  nature,  and 
is  now  probably  without  a  rival  in  the  world  (since  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  pink  terraces  in  New  Zealand)  as  regards  its  Hot 
Springs  and  terrace  formations.  The  first  place  the  visitor 
stops  at  on  entering  the  Park  is  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs 
Hotel.  The  situation  of  this  hotel  is  very  fine,  surrounded  as 
it  is  on  every  side  by  mountains.  The  height  of  the  hotel 
above  "  tide  level,"  as  the  Americans  call  it,  is  6000  feet.  The 
terrace  formations  are  in  full  view  of  the  hotel,  and  about  three 
hundred  yards  from  it.  They  are  so  vast  that  their  beauty  is  lost 
in  their  grandeur.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  their  extent 
when  it  is  said  that  they  cover  nearly  200  acres,  and  attain  to  a 
height  of  probably  200  feet.  Everywhere  water  at  160°  is  boil- 
ing up,  and  steam  floating  in  the  air.  The  lime,  contained  in 
the  water,  deposits  and  forms  the  most  beautiful  terraces  and 
basins,  varying  in  colour  from  cream  and  dainty  pink,  to 
yellow  and  green.  These  take  all  kinds  of  forms,  from  bee- 
hive shapes  to  basins,  the  latter  as  closely  resembling  baptismal 
fonts  as  possible.  These  fonts  are  filled  with  water  which 
pours  over  the  ledges  and  fills  other  fonts  below  and  in  like 
manner  these  supply  others  for  many  feet  below,  till  we  have 
tier  above  tier  of  the  most  lovely  hued,  gracefully  formed,  and 
exquisitely  rippled  stalagmitic  basins  that  could  be  imagined, 
looking  as  soft  as  wool,  and  yet  being  as  hard  as  marble. 
Here  and  there  are  deep  pools  of  tenderest  blue  and  brilliant 


emerald,  gurgling  up  and  wreathed  around  with  a  vapoury 
cloud.  One  mounts  to  the  summit,  two  hundred  feet  above 
the  plain,  and  is  startled  to  find  on  the  very  topmost  ridge 
some  half  dozen  little  boiling  springs,  it  may  be  each  only  the 
size  of  a  coffee  cup,  yet  all  vigorously  at  work,  spluttering  and 
spurting,  and  doing  their  best  to  form  little  terraces  of  their 
own.  A  few  score  yards  to  the  left,  walking  over  dry  and 
crisp  white  formations,  which  crackle  under  our  feet  at  every 
step  as  though  they  would  break  and  let  us  down  into  some 
dreadful  boiling  caldron,  we  reach  quite  a  large  sheet  of  steam- 
ing water  on  the  top  of  the  largest  formation,  and  this  is  the 
main  supply  for  nearly  all  the  lower  fonts  and  basins.  Its 
waters  had  every  colour  of  the  rainbow,  and  if  possible  more  ; 
there  were  greens  and  yellows,  and  blues,  and  blacks,  and 
pinks,  and  white.  A  peculiar  russet  coloured  slimy  weed,  that 
seemed  to  thrive  in  this  tepid  water  gave  its  ruddy  hue  to  the 
general  mass  of  colour. 

On  descending  we  pass,  in  the  area  below,  a  huge  calcareous 
formation  at  least  forty  feet  high,  and  forty  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence, standing  out  distinct  and  separate  as  a  conical  peak 
amidst  the  surrounding  pools.  This  is  called  "  Liberty  Cap," 
from  its  shape,  and  is  the  deposit  formed  by  a  geyser,  now 
extinct.  The  terraces  and  pools  we  have  just  left  have  various 
names  given  to  them,  from  "Jupiter"  and  ''Minerva"  down 
to  "  Little  Cupid's  Cave." 

Mammoth  Hot  Springs  is  the  principal  station  in  the  Park, 

and  barracks  are  erected  here  for  housing  the  few   soldiers 

{ that  act  as  guardians  of  the  Park,  both  to  protect  the  animals 

from  the  visitors,  and  the  visitors  from  the  hostile  Indians,  and 

other  brigands.     Their  presence  has  been  very  effectual,  as 


H4 

during  the  last  few  years  there  have  been  no  predatory  incursions. 
En  passant,  these  and  the  soldiers  we  saw  at  Fort  Douglas,  Salt 
Lake  City,  were  the  only  soldiers  we  ever  saw  during  our  four 
months  visit  to  the  States.  How  different  this  is  to  Continental 
cities  where  every  tenth  man  you  meet  is  a  soldier. 

The  Park  has  many  minor  canyons  and  waterfalls  which  are 
very  picturesque,  notably  the  Golden  Gate,  Middle  Gardener 
Falls,  Gibbon  Canyon,  Gibbon  Falls,  and  Kepler's  Cascades. 
These  in  any  other  place  would  form  great  attractions  in  them- 
selves. We  must  not  omit  to  mention  a  very  singular  formation 
lying  between  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  and  the  Norris 
Geyser  Basin,  "  Obsidian  Cliff,  a  ridge  of  black  volcanic  glass, 
300  yards  long  and  150-250  feet  high,  once  a  favourite  resort 
of  the  Indians,  who  made  arrow  heads  of  the  obsidian." 
Obsidian  can  only  be  purchased  at  heavy  cost  per  pound  in 
London,  here  the  roads  are  repaired  with  it. 

GEYSERS — The  scientific  interest  of  the  Park  centres  in  its 
Geysers  and  Hot  Springs.  Here  it  is  not  as  in  Iceland,  a 
solitary  geyser,  or  a  score  of  boiling  springs.  The  Park 
abounds  with  them,  and  it  is  impossible  to  travel  many  miles 
without  seeing  jets  of  steam  rising  from  the  ground  on  every 
hand,  indicating  their  presence.  There  are  more  than  4000 
Hot  Springs  and  at  least  100  active  Geysers  in  the  Park.  The 
chief  of  these  He  in  three  great  beds,  the  Norris  Geyser  Basin, 
the  Lower  Geyser  Basin,  and  the  Upper  Geyser  Basin,  all  in 
the  same  locality,  and  within  a  few  miles  of  each  other.  We 
shall  not  attempt  to  describe  them,  fortunately  the  best  came 
last,  there  is  an  ascending  scale  of  grandeur.  We  commence 
with  (as  a  first  introduction)  some  little  spurts  of  ten  or  twenty 
feet  going  off  in  all  directions  at  the  Norris  Geyser  Basin.  We 


"5 

were  fortunate  enough  to  witness  an  eruption  of  the  Monarch 
Geyser,  a  sight  that  is  rarely  seen,  only  on  one  previous  occasion 
in  the  season  of  1895  had  visitors  been  privileged  to  see  it. 
As  it  was  our  first  Geyser,  and  sent  its  waters  in  great  volume 
to  a  height  of  100  feet  and  over,  it  made  a  great  impression 
upon  us.  It  does  not  bear  its  name  without  good  reason, 
although  it  is  not  the  finest  geyser  in  the  Park.  We  passed  by 
Black  Growler,  which  may  be  called  a  dry  geyser,  as  he  only 
lets  off  steam  with  a  tremendous  roir,  like  half  a  dozen 
'•  Campanias"  blowing  off  steam  at  full  pressure  all  at  once. 
It  is  close  by  the  road  side,  and  made  the  earth  tremble  all 
around  us. 

We  were  the  most  interested  in  the  Fountain  Geyser,  in  the 
Lower  Geyser  Basin,  which  erupts  every  two  or  three  hours, 
and  plays  for  20  minutes  with  the  regularity  almost  of  clock 
work.  It  is  only  a  short  distance  from  the  hotel  and  is  easily 
accessible.  One  can  stand  by  its  beautiful  deep  and  emerald 
pool  and  watch  the  first  disturbance  of  the  water — the  "  troub- 
ling of  the  water,"  probably  like  that  at  Bethesda.  At  first  it 
is  not  safe  to  stand  near  the  brink  of  the  seething  caldron,  for 
one  never  knows  where  the  first  jets  of  boiling  water  may 
shoot,  but  as  the  fountain  gets  into  full  play  one  may  approach 
close  to  its  border  and  catch,  as  far  as  the  steam  will  permit, 
glimpses  of  the  different  bursts  of  the  silvery  spray  as  they  rise 
into  the  air  from  20  to  60  feet  high,  all  mingling  together  and 
forming  a  massive  but  confused  aggregate  of  steam  and  boiling 
water.  This  lasts  for  about  twenty  minutes  and  then  gradually 
subsides,  and  in  two  or  three  minutes  more  the  pool  is  as  placid 
as  if  it  never  had  known  a  disturbing  influence. 

This  is  truly  a  wonderland,  the  ground  for  miles  around  is 
built  up  of  the  calcareous  deposits  from  the  geysers  and  the 


n6 

boiling  springs,  and  seems  to  tremble  as  we  walk  over  it. 
During  the  night  of  our  stay  at  the  "  Fountain  Hotel "  we  felt 
a  great  shaking  of  the  building,  and  were  told  the  next  morn- 
ing that  an  earthquake  shock  had  occurred  during  the  night. 
They  are  very  frequent  about  here,  but  do  no  damage,  as  there 
are  so  many  vents  out  of  which  the  surplus  subterranean 
energies  can  expend  themselves. 

The  climax  is  however  reached  at  the  Upper  Geyser  Basin  ; 
but  to  see  these  geysers  play  in  perfection  it  is  necessary  to 
wait  here  several  days,  as,  with  the  exception  of  "  Old  Faithful," 
(one  of  the  most  beautiful  geysers  in  the  Park,  and  throwing 
a  jet  of  water  150  feet  high  and  which  goes  off  pretty  regularly 
every  65  minutes — hence  its  name)  they  are  very  irregular  in 
their  eruptions.  While  we  were  there  the  Castle,  which  bursts 
forth  every  30  hours  and  throws  its  waters  75  feet  high,  played 
with  great  vigour.  The  Giant  Geyser,  which  plays  very  irregu- 
larly, sends  its  column  of  water  up  to  a  height  of  250  feet,  and 
is  only  surpassed  by  the  Excelsior  Geyser  (now  almost  extinct) 
which  throws  up  a  huge  mass  of  water  200  to  300  feet  high. 

We  must  not  omit  to  mention  the  paint  pots,  or  mud  puffs, 
which  in  their  way  are  quite  as  interesting  as  the  geysers,  and 
far  more  amusing.  Imagine  great  basins,  with  diameters  from 
50  to  100  feet,  filled  with  mud,  like  porridge,  of  a  reddish 
tinge,  ever  on  the  bubble  and  squeak,  some  as  if  a  great  anti- 
deluvian  monster  had  fallen  into  it  and  was  drowning  in  its 
depths,  giving  out  at  intervals,  with  a  kind  of  snort,  his  last 
dying  breath.  Others  of  a  pale  pinky  hue,  and  in  a  milder 
way,  every  now  and  then  coming  to  a  boiling  point  and  sending 
up  with  a  flop  a  bubble  of  mud  that  forms  itself  into  the  shape 
of  a  nice  delicate  plate  of  ice  cream.  These  vary  in  size  and 


colour,   and  seem  never  to  enlarge   or  decrease.      There  is 
apparently  no  overflow. 

THE  LAKE. — We  must  just  give  a  passing  reference  to  the 
great  Lake.  It  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  largest  sheets  of  water 
in  the  world  at  so  high  an  altitude,  viz.,  7740  feet  above  "  tide 
level."  It  is  over  20  miles  long  by  about  12  miles  wide,  and 
has  an  area  of  about  140  square  miles.  Its  shape  is  very 
irregular,  indenting  the  rocks  with  many  bays.  Although 
surrounded  by  mountains  on  several  sides,  it  has  but  few 
claims  to  be  regarded  as  a  picturesque  lake,  at  least  at  its 
lower  end.  One  obtains  however  in  steaming  between  the 
west  bay  and  the  Lake  Hotel  a  very  fine  view  of  the  Teton 
Mountains,  which  are  75  miles  distant  and  above  14,000  feet 
high.  The  glaciers  on  this  range  can  be  seen  distinctly 
through  good  glasses.  The  Lake  Hotel  would  be  a  pleasant 
place  to  rest  at  for  a  few  days  were  there  not  better  scenes 
beyond.  It  is  at  West  Bay  that  it  is  said  one  can  catch  his 
fish  in  the  lake  on  one  side  and  cook  it  in  a  boiling  spring  on 
the  other. 

THE  GREAT  DIVIDE. — On  our  way  to  the  Lake  Hotel  we 
crossed  the  great  "  Divide,"  or  summit  of  the  Pass. 

A  very  curious  circumstance  arises  here  owing  to  the 
peculiar  position  of  the  ridge.  At  the  top  there  is  an  indicator 
that  points  to  the  East  for  the  Pacific,  and  to  the  West  for  the 
Atlantic  water  shed.  At  the  first  we  questioned  its  accuracy, 
and  felt  certain  that  a  mistake  had  been  made,  as  it  ought  to 
be  vice  versa,  but  a  little  reflection  put  one  right.  A  paradoxical 
thing  happens,  it  is  this  :  The  waters  on  the  east  side  of  this 
ridge  flow  south,  and  then  turn  sharp  to  the  west  through  a  rent 
in  the  mountain  chain,  and  fall  into  the  Pacific  ocean,  while 


n8 

the  waters  on  the  west  side  flow  north  for  fully  300  miles,  and 
turn  east,  flowing  into  the  Missouri  River,  and  thence  south, 
joining  the  Mississippi  and  falling  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and 
Atlantic  ocean.  But  we  must  hurry  on  to  the  great  sight  of  all, 

THE    GRAND    CANYON ! 

The  "  Canyons  "  of  America  are  among  the  wonders  of  the 
world.  It  is  difficult  to  describe  a  "  Canyon,"  it  is  neither  a 
gorge  nor  a  valley.  Sometimes  it  approaches  the  one,  and 
sometimes  it  resembles  the  other,  and  at  times  it  is  both.  We 
have  seen  many  Canyons,  and  all  more  or  less  beautiful,  but 
the  Canyon  par  excellence  (if  not  for  grandeur,  at  least  for 
beauty,  and  in  a  great  measure  combining  both  beauty  and 
grandeur)  is  the  GRAND  CANYON  of  the  Yellowstone  Park. 
Without  hesitation  we  affirm  it  to  be  the  most  beautiful 
sight  of  our  life.  No  description  of  it,  however  vivid,  had  ever 
conveyed  to  our  mind  the  slightest  idea  of  what  it  was  in  realiz- 
ation. Photographs  and  paintings  were  but  as  shadows  of  its 
glory.  If  on  the  one  hand  the  mind  was  struck  with  awe  at 
the  sight  of  its  vast  depths  and  precipitous  heights,  the  eye  was 
filled  with  rapture  at  the  beauty  of  its  colouring. 

The  vision  of  man  had  never  imagined  massive  form  and 
resplendent  colour  could  so  combine,  as  to  create  such  an 
enchanting  scene.  How  can  we  attempt  to  describe  that  which 
is  indescribable,  or  clothe  the  poetry  of  nature  in  the  feeble 
words  of  prose  ? 

Full  seven  miles  does  this  earthly  glory  make  its  rift 
through  desolate  rocks  and  stunted  forests.  An  emerald  stream 
flows  in  its  deepest  depths,  broken  here  and  there  by  numer 


ous  cataracts,  and  leaping  falls.  At  the  entrance  to  the  gorge 
one  hears  the  roar  of  a  stupendous  cascade,  that  hurls  its 
crystal  tide  for  nearly  400  feet  into  the  abyss  below ;  dashing 
itself  on  shattered  rocks,  and  forest  trees  carried  down  in  its 
course,  and  then,  gathering  itself  together  in  the  pool  below, 
it  bounds  along  amidst  gigantic  rocks  of  ever  varying  hue. 
The  valley  sinks,  the  rocks  rise  on  either  side  and  grow  in 
majesty  and  grandeur,  till  their  summits  and  walls  of  pink  and 
purple,  and  limitless  golden  yellow,  are  burnished  by  the  rays  of 
the  setting  sun  ;  whilst  below,  a  thousand  feet  and  more,  the 
gathering  shadows  deepen,  and  settle  on  the  pyramids  of  crimson 
and  lichen  covered  rocks,  that  rear  themselves  from  the  base 
of  the  valley,  on  which  the  eagles,  safe  in  their  solitude 
and  seclusion,  have  built  their  eyries.  One  could  see  from 
above,  the  eaglets  in  their  nest  below,  and  hear  their  cries, 
whilst  the  mother  bird  was  soaring  around  in  search  of  prey. 

Our  visit  to  the  Park  was  unfortunately  cut  short  by  reason 
of  a  sharp  snow  storm  coming  on,  and,  fearing  to  be  snowed  up 
8000  feet  high  at  the  Canyon,  we  hurried  down  to  the  Mam- 
moth Hot  Springs  Hotel.  No  snow  appeared  to  have  fallen 
there,  2000  feet  below  the  Canyon.  The  next  day  we  took 
the  night  train  for  Butte  City,  having  again  to  pass  by  the 
burning  tunnel ;  but  by  this  time  they  had  laid  a  temporary 
line  over  the  mountain,  which  we  passed  while  in  our  berths 
during  the  night.  About  20  miles  before  reaching  Butte  City 
and  about  i  ooo  feet  above  it,  we  skirted  the  border  of  an 
immense  wilderness  of  enormous  stones  or  blocks  of  rock, 
chiefly  rounded,  and  extending  for  several  miles.  We  never 
remember  to  have  seen  anything  so  Cyclopean.  The  nearest 
approach  to  them  in  vastness  being  the  largest  of  the  rocks 


120 

forming  the  remains  of  the  great  landslip  into  the  valley  near 
Arth,  in  Switzerland,  but  here  the  area  was  ten  times  as  large, 
and  the  huge  rocks  were  on  the  top  of  the  mountain  and  not 
in  the  valley.  We  should  very  much  have  appreciated  a  less 
hurried  sight  of  them  than  our  hasty  glance  from  the  train. 

BUTTE  CITY  is  essentially  a  miners'  city,  some  of  the 
shafts  of  the  mines  being  in  the  streets.  It  is  a  busy,  active 
place,  and  its  shops  and  streets  give  it  some  pretence  for  call- 
ing itself  a  City.  In  the  afternoon  we  resumed  our  journey, 
and  about  9  next  morning  reached  Salt  Lake  City. 

SALT  LAKE  CITY. 

EGG  CUPS. — Perhaps  the  most  notable  thing  we  have  to 
record  in  connection  with  this  city  is  the  fact,  that  at  so 
fashionable  and  so  grand  an  hotel  as  the  "  Knutsford,"  they 
had  no  egg  cups  !  The  Americans  generally  have  their  eggs 
lightly  boiled  and  then  broken  into  a  tumbler  and  beaten  up. 
We  preferred  ours  to  be  boiled  in  English  fashion,  and  when 
they  were  served,  they  appeared  in  small  cream  jugs  as 
impromptu  egg  cups. 

A  MONSTER  APPLE. — If  the  "egg  cup"  had  not  been  the 
most  noticeable  incident,  we  think  we  should  have  had  to  give 
precedence  to  a  huge,  nice  flavoured  eating  apple,  that  we 
purchased  at  Salt  Lake  City  for  10  cents.  It  took  four  of  us 
to  eat  it,  and  then  we  were  obliged  to  leave  a  quarter  of  it 
untouched. 

THE  CITY. — Polygamy,  as  we  say  elsewhere,  is  a  thing  of 
the  past  in  Utah,  (pronounced  U-tor)  but  Mormonism  still 
survives,  and  is  evidenced  by  one  of  the  largest  Tabernacles, 
and  one  of  the  most  costly  Temples  in  the  world.  The  Taber- 


121 

nacle  will  hold,  on  a  pack,  12,000  people.  It  is  not  classical 
in  form,  but  it  is  imposing  in  size ;  its  shape  resembles  a  huge 
elongated  dish  cover.  The  Temple  is  a  plain,  massive  and 
imposing  structure  with  four  towers.  It  cost  4,000,000  dollars. 
We  were  not  permitted  to  enter  the  Temple  :  no  Gentile  is. 
The  Tabernacle  was  undergoing  repairs  and  there  was  no 
service  in  it  on  the  next  Sunday.  We  were  however  obligingly 
told  that  if  we  came  down  in  the  evening  we  should  hear  the 
choir  of  500  voices  rehearsing  for  the  "  Eisteddfod,"  about  to 
be  held  in  the  city.  In  the  evening  we  did  attend,  and  are 
compelled  by  what  we  heard  to  add  our  humble  meed  of 
praise  to  the  general  one.  We  never  heard  the  "  Hallelujah" 
Chorus  more  beautifully  rendered.  We  suppose  that  300  out 
of  the  500  were  young  girls,  and  nearly  all  of  them  were 
smartly  and  fashionably  dressed,  wearing  little  coquettish  straw 
hats.  We  however  saw  none  of  remarkable  beauty.  They  all 
appeared  healthy,  cheerful  and  contented. 

The  next  day  we  took  a  drive  through  this  really  charming 
city,  with  its  broad,  tree-lined  avenues  and  cozy  villas.  The 
driver  of  our  carriage  was  a  very  intelligent  man,  and  although 
a  "  Gentile,"  seemed  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the  Mormons 
we  met.  He  knew  nearly  everybody.  We  will  give  the  objects 
of  interest  we  visited  in  the  same  order  as  we  saw  them  : — 

I.— Zion's  Co-operative  Mercantile  Institution,  a  vast  con- 
cern like  "Whiteley's,"  or  the  "Bon  Marche."  This  shop  is, 
notwithstanding  its  title,  open  to  all  customers. 

II.— The  Sanatorium,  a  fine  building  with  hot  sulphur 
baths,  much  frequented. 

III.— The  new  City  Hall,  one  of  the  handsomest  public 
buildings  in  the  States  ;  the  walls  of  the  corridors  and  of  the 
staircase  are  lined  with  polished  onyx. 


122 

IV. — The  Tithe  Yard,  as  its  name  denotes,  is  an  im- 
portant feature  in  Mormonism,  as  the  Priesthood  has  to  be 
maintained.  In  the  sermon  related  elsewhere  the  preacher 
made  a  strong  exhortation  as  to  paying  tithes,  and  said  no  one- 
could  be  a  good  Mormon  who  did  not  pay  tithes.  At  this 
place  the  tithes  are  gathered  in  kind. 

V.— Old  Mormon  Houses.  There  was  a  separate  door  for 
every  wife.  Some  had  three  doors,  some  five,  and  others  even 
more. 

VI. — The  "  Amelia  Palace,"  a  very  pretty  and  commodious 
villa,  directly  opposite  to  Brigham  Young's  old  house.  It  was 
occupied  by  his  favourite  wife ;  she  now  lives  in  a  villa  near  to 
her  father  and  mother. 

VII. — Brigham  Young's  old  house,  the  "  Lion  House," 
where  he  had  several  wives  ;  adjoining  this,  his  later  residence 
the  "  Beehive,"  (Utah's  emblem)  at  the  corner  of  the  street 
where  the  "  Eagle  Arch "  is  erected  to  his  memory.  The 
Temple  can  be  seen  from  here,  as  it  is  in  the  same  Avenue. 
We  have  already  referred  to  the  Temple  and  the  Tabernacle. 

VIII. — Brigham  Young's  grave  is  in  a  square  plot  of 
ground  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  same  road  The  stone 
that  covers  his  vault  is  said  to  weigh  seven  tons.  His  first  wife 
is  buried  near  to  him,  and  five  others  lie  around,  but  none 
of  his  widows  can  be  buried  there  now,  as  the  burying 
ground  is  closed  by  the  city  authorities  for  sanitary  reasons. 

IX. — Our  next  visit  was  to  the  "  Crazy-man's  House,"  a  very 
small  cottage,  covered  outside  with  pictures,  pieces  of  gay 
cloth,  ribbons,  cards,  flowers,  and  evergreens.  The  poor  man 
who  lives  there  has  been  waiting  for  seventeen  years  for  his 
bride  to  come,  one  to  whom  he  was  engaged  in  his  early  days, 


"3 

but  she  never  comes,  and  he  lives  on  hopefully,  faithful  in 
his  love,  and  expecting  her.  A  marked  contrast  to  those  who 
formerly  lived  around  him. 

It  is  said  that  Brigham  Young  died  worth  12,000,000 
dollars.  He  "  ran  "  the  principal,  if  not  the  only  theatre  in  the 
city.  It  was  he  who  led  the  exodus  of  the  Mormons,  selected 
Utah  as  their  State,  and  planned  and  built  the  city  of  Salt 
Lake.  For  monument,  one  might  say  of  him  as  of  Wren  in 
St.  Pauls  Cathedral,  "  Circumspice,"  "Look  around!" 

We  ran  down  by  the  afternoon  train  to  Saltair,  with  its 
magnificent  Bathing  Pavilion,  probably  the  largest  in  the  world, 
having  separate  rooms  for  over  2000  bathers,  who  come  down 
to  the  Salt  Lake  to  enjoy  an  exhilarating  bathe  in  its  buoyant 
waters,  which  are  said  to  contain  upwards  of  21  per  cent,  of 
salt  (sea  water  varies  from  3  to  4  per  cent,  only.)  Here,  as  in 
every  structure  built  of  wood,  large  tubs  and  buckets  filled  with 
water  are  abundantly  provided  to  be  ready  in  case  of  fire. 
These  buckets  were  filled  with  salt  water ;  the  great  heat  had 
evaporated  the  water  and  left  the  bottom  and  sides  of  one  of 
the  buckets  beautifully  encrusted  with  crystals  of  salt.  On  the 
way  we  passed  several  brine  pools  where  salt  is  obtained  in 
large  quantites  by  evaporation. 

FORT  DOUGLAS. 

This  fort,  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made,  is  a 
garrison  holding  about  500  soldiers  of  the  United  States  army. 
These,  with  the  exception  of  the  few  told  off  for  police  duty 
in  the  Yellowstone  Park,  were  the  only  soldiers  we  ever  saw  in 
our  tour  through  the  States.  (We  must  also  except  the  stand- 
ing army  of  "  Buffalo  Bill,"  whom  we  saw  make  his  state  entry 


I24 

into  Dunkirk  with  one  hundred  or  more  mounted  troopers, 
and  at  the  time  we  jokingly  said  that  such  an  array  of 
force  was  a  standing  menace  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States.)  Fort  Douglas  is  500  feet  above  the  city  and  about 
three  or  four  miles  from  it.  The  situation  is  lovely,  and  we 
were  favoured  with  a  magnificent  October  sunset  over  the  lake. 
The  valley  is  girt  about  by  mountains,  the  nearest  (the  Wah- 
satch  Range)  being  about  12,000  feet  high. 

A  very  curious  effect  occurs  over  the  lake  at  sunrise,  which 
we  noticed  on  the  morning  of  our  arrival.  The  lower  part  of 
the  sky  bordering  on  the  horizon  becomes  of  a  pale  blue  and 
the  upper  part  of  it  a  pale  pink,  and  this  effect  occurs  not  in 
the  East  but  in  the  West.  We  saw  precisely  the  same  effect 
produced  at  sunset  in  crossing  the  prairie  between  Denver  and 
Kansas  City,  only  in  this  case  it  was  reversed,  the  sky  being 
coloured  in  the  East  and  not  the  West. 

A    WILDERNESS. 

On  Monday  about  8  a.m.  we  left  Salt  Lake  City  to  return 
to  Ogden  on  our  way  to  Denver.  The  journey  after  leaving 
Ogden  for  a  few  miles  is  pleasantly  picturesque,  the  track  pass- 
ing through  two  minor  Canyons,  Echo  and  Weber.  After  that 
the  route  is  intensely  uninteresting,  the  country  being  composed 
of  sand  hills  and  sand  plains,  as  dry  and  as  arid  as  those  of 
Sahara.  At  Green  River,  the  name  of  a  little  town,  composed 
almost  entirely  of  the  shanties  of  the  people  employed  on  the 
railroad,  some  singular  formations  occur,  like  those  protuberant 
rocks  of  the  Saxon  Switzerland  which  rise  from  the  plain 
several  hundred  feet  high.  A  short  distance  from  this  station 
a  rock  of  an  elevation  of  about  700  feet,  and  probably  about 


125 

50  yards  square  at  the  top,  stood  boldly  out ;  the  lower  part 
which  was  much  wider,  consisted  of  a  very  soft  sandstone,  or 
indurated  sand  with  alternating  layers  of  harder  stone,  and  the 
top  was  capped  by  a  hard  stratified  rock  of  at  least  50  feet  in 
thickness.  There  were  several  smaller  ones  scattered  about 
this  district.  Here  we  had  to  wait  for  another  train  to  join  us. 
It  came  up  to  time,  although  since  it  started  a  day  or  two  ago 
it  had  lost  five  hours  on  the  road,  through  first  having  run  into 
a  herd  of  oxen  and  killed  five  of  them,  and  secondly  by  reason 
of  dashing  into  the  "  wreck"  of  a  freight  train.  We  could  only 
hope  that  it  would  take  us  safely  to  Denver,  which  it  did,  with- 
out further  incident.  We  reached  Denver  about  9  o'clock  in 
the  morning  up  to  time.  Let  us  here  say  that  coming  by  this 
route  from  Salt  Lake  was  one  of  the  mistakes  of  our  tour.  We 
ought  to  have  come  by  the  Rio  Grande  Railroad,  and  thus 
have  passed  through  some  of  the  finest  scenery  in  the  world, 
instead  of  traversing  an  arid  desert.  Another  reason  for  that 
route  is  this,  that  we  should  have  passed  through  scenery  in 
getting  to  Denver  which  we  were  obliged  to  make  special 
excursions  to  see,  involving  loss  of  time  and  considerable  out- 
lay. We  should  have  passed  Glenwood  Springs,  Leadville, 
the  Royal  Gorge  and  Colorado  Springs. 

DENVER. 

This  is  an  important,  thriving,  and  charming  city ;  it  is  very 
clean  and  bright,  has  spacious  streets,  good  shops  and  very 
fine  public  buildings,  the  State  Capitol  and  the  City  Hall  being 
noble  stone  structures  with  imposing  domes.  The  "  Equitable" 
is  a  splendid  twelve  storied  edifice  in  white  stone  and  marble, 
and  the  "  Brown  Palace"  Hotel  is  one  of  the  sights  of  the 


126 

city.  The  suburban  residential  quarters  are  very  pleasant  and 
possess  many  pretty  and  costly  villas  ;  we  were  greatly  struck 
with  the  neatness  of  the  gardens  of  the  villas,  and  the  pleasing 
and,  to  us,  somewhat  novel  style  of  the  architecture  of  the 
houses. 

THE  ROCKIES. — The  situation  of  Denver  is  beautiful,  the 
range  of  the  southern  group  of  the  Rockies  being  full  in  view 
for  about  170  miles,  the  nearer  mountains  being  only  about 
six  or  eight  miles  from  the  city,  the  peaks  however  were  as 
usual  all  dried  up  and  arid.  In  the  distant  South,  60  miles 
away,  we  could  see  Pike's  Peak  (14,147  ft.)  but  with  no  snow 
upon  it.  Several  of  these  Peaks  are  over  14,000  feet  high, 
and  have  only  scraps  of  snow  here  and  there.  Naturally  we 
asked  ourselves,  "  How  is  this,  when  the  line  of  perpetual 
snow  may  be  generally  taken  at  10,000  ft.?"  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  there  is  very  little  rain  in  Colorado,  rarely  exceeding 
ten  or  twelve  days  in  a  year,  consequently  in  the  higher  regions 
there  can  be  very  little  snow,  and  what  does  fall  is  rapidly 
melted  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  so  that  it  never  has  any  oppor- 
tunity to  accumulate  and  form  glaciers.  These  very  lofty 
mountains  do  not  appear  very  high  as  seen  from  Denver,  for 
Denver  itself  is  at  a  great  elevation,  viz.,  5207  feet.  As  we 
always  carried  the  snow  with  us,  as  the  "gentle  reader"  will 
have  remarked,  in  following  us  in  our  visits  to  Banff  and  the 
Yellowstone  Park,  we  had  it  here  a  few  days  after  our  arrival, 
and  again  was  the  scene  transformed  from  the  Tropical  to  the 
Arctic.  The  storm  was  confined  to  the  mountains,  and  the 
snow  line  was  sharply  defined  on  their  sides,  not  lying  lower 
than  10,000  feet. 

THE  SAVANTS. — There  was  great  commotion  in  the  Brown 
Palace  Hotel,  owing  to  a  Convention  of  the  American  Public 


127 

Health  Association  being  held  in  Denver  Through  the  kind 
invitation  of  Dr.  M.  of  New  Jersey,  we  were  enabled  to  attend 
the  opening  meeting  held  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Dr.  Bailey,  of  Louisville,  presided,  and  the  Governor  of 
Colorado  and  the  Mayor  of  Denver  were  present  to  give 
a  cordial  welcome  to  the  delegates.  The  meeting  was 
conducted  d  r Anglais  excepting  that  two  or  three  organ 
recitals  were  interspersed  among  the  speeches.  It  was  very 
gratifying  to  us  to  hear  the  name  of  our  good  friend  Dr. 
Newsholme  of  Brighton  so  honourably  referred  to. 

COLORADO  SPRINGS  AND  MANITOU. — The  next  day  we 
took  the  train  for  these  interesting  places,  staying  for  the  night 
at  Manitou,  a  charming  little  watering  place  nestling  in  a  cozy 
well  wooded  valley  and  in  full  view  of  Pike's  Peak  from  base 
to  summit.  It  is  from  here  that  the  mountain  railway  for  the 
top  starts. 

A  SURPRISE. — A  most  agreeable  incident  occurred  to  us 
while  staying  here,  it  interested  us  much  and  we  crave  our 
readers'  kind  indulgence  while  we  narrate  it ;  the  incident 
reveals  two  things,  first,  the  smallness  of  the  world,  and 
secondly,  that  phase  of  American  character  that  we  have 
ventured  to  call  "kindliness,"  and  which  we  have  so  feebly 
attempted  to  illustrate  in  one  or  two  instances.  It  was  as- 
follows.  After  dinner  we  adjourned  to  the  drawing  room ;  a 
gentleman  who  was  there  when  we  entered,  after  a  few  minutes 
left  the  room,  casting  a  friendly  glance  at  us  as  he  passed.  In 
a  couple  of  minutes  he  returned  and  coming  up  to  the  writer 
he  held  out  his  hand  and  said,  "How  do  you  do  Mr.—  "  (mention- 
ing our  name).  We  heartily  shook  hands  and  he  considerately  sat 
down  to  have  a  chat  with  us,  saying,  "  I  saw  you  were  English." 


128 

After  a  few  minutes  conversation  he  mentioned  the  name  of  a 
gentleman  in  New  York,  and  the  more  he  said  about  him  the  more 
we  became  convinced  that  it  was  a  friend  of  ours  ;  so  interrupting 
him  we  said.  "  and  did  he  marry  an  English  lady?"  He  said, 
"Yes  "  ;  "  and  was  she  a  Miss  A.?"  He  said,  "  Yes,  do  you 
know  them?"  We  said,  "  Yes,  for  many  years,  and  very  cross 
we  all  were  that  this  American  should  take  away  our  charming 
little  belle."  Mr.  H.  then  introduced  us  to  the  members  of 
his  family,  and  we  spent  a  most  pleasant  and  interesting  evening 
together. 

THE  GARDEN  OF  THE  GODS.  —  The  next  day  Mr.  H. 
politely  invited  us  to  take  a  drive  with  them  to  the  "  Garden  of 
the  Gods,"  a  very  picturesque  spot  filled  with  grotesque  and 
curious  rocks  of  white  and  red  sandstone  of  all  shapes  and  forms, 
some  resembling  animals,  and  others  cathedrals  and  castles. 
The  "Gate"  is  a  very  strange  formation,  rocks  rise  on  either 
side  to  an  altitude  of  330  feet,  and  leave  a  narrow  passage 
wide  enough  for  a  carriage  to  pass  through.  On  one  side  the 
rock  is  as  thin  as  a  wall,  being  only  a  few  feet  in  thickness. 

WILLIAMS  CANYON. — On  our  return  to  Manitou  our  friends 
drove  us  to  the  Williams  Canyon,  and  the  Cave  of  the  Winds, 
where  we  obtained  a  splendid  view  of  the  surrounding 
mountains. 

The  next  morning  we  left  for  the  Royal  Gorge,  bidding 
adieu  to  our  new  friends. 

THE  ROYAL   GORGE. 

The  brilliant  sunshine  of  the  preceding  day  was  followed 
by  a  break  in  the  weather,  the  rain  was  falling  heavily,  and  we 
felt  a  sense  of  disappointment,  for  sunshine  and  a  clear  atmos- 


129 

phere  are  essentials  for  enjoying  mountain  scenery.  After 
passing  through  the  quaint  town  of  Pueblo  the  line  turns 
abruptly  to  the  right,  and  shortly  after  dives  straight  into  the 
Rocky  chain.  We  were  to  the  south  of  Pike's  Peak,  and  ought 
to  have  had  fine  views  of  it,  but  the  bad  weather  prevented  us. 
At  Florence  we  remarked  many  wind  mills,  not  like  our  old 
English  four-sail  mills,  but  with  one  large  round  star  like 
wheel ;  these  are  for  pumping  up  petroleum,  for  they  have 
"  struck  ile  "  here.  Immense  tanks  and  derricks  are  crowded 
about  the  station. 

GRAND  CANYON  OF  THE   ARKANSAS. — With  little,  or  no 
preliminary  warning,  the  train  dashes  into  the   Canyon,  like 
entering  a  tunnel.     The   mountain   has  literally  been   split  in 
two,  rearing  at   the   entrance  its  perpendicular  walls  to  about 
1000  feet  high,  and  so  nearly  do  they  approach  each  other,  as 
barely  to  allow  room  for  the  tumultuous  river  and  the  railway 
to  struggle  through  the  pass.     A  portentous  gloom  filled  the 
chasm,  and  as  we  dived  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  mountains, 
and  as  the  rocks  rose  higher  and  higher,  without  widening 
in   their   breach,   thus    intensifying  the    obscurity,    the  mind 
became  appalled  with  the  terrific  grandeur  and  wildness  of  the 
scene.     Instead  of  expanding,  the  gorge  contracted,  and  the 
pent  up  river  struggled  with  maddening  fury  to  make  its  way 
over  the  impeding  rocks  that  filled  the  channel.     The  railway, 
deprived  of  its  narrow  ledge,   had  to  pass  over  a  framework, 
hanging  over  the  river,  and  supported  by  girders  let  into  the 
rock  of  the  Canyon  on  the  one  side,  and  by  girders  spanning 
the  river  and  fixed  into  the  rocks  on  the  other  side.     It  is  here 
that  the  granite  walls  become  stupendous,  and  almost  over- 
whelming, rising  to  a  height  of  no  less  than  2,600  feet,  and  this 


I30 

part  is  called  the  ROYAL  GORGE  !  The  savagery  of  the  scene, 
immensity  of  the  rocks,  the  tumult  of  the  waters,  and  the  dull 
obscured  light  that  penetrated  into  these  Tartarean  depths, 
filled  the  mind  with  awe  and  wonder  on  the  one  hand,  and  on 
the  other  thrilled  it  with  intense  admiration  for  the  sublime 
and  grand  in  nature. 

Strange  that  on  emerging  from  this  Gorge  we  should  enter 
upon  a  plain  of  pasture  land.  Snow  was  falling  fast,  and  we 
again  had  fears  of  being  snowed  up.  We  were  a  little  disap- 
pointed with  the  mountain  scenery  about  here,  the  wildness  of 
the  Gorge  tending  to  make  everything  else  look  tame.  We 
passed  Selida  (7050  ft.  high)  ;  the  new  passengers  reported 
that  it  had  been  snowing  all  day  at  Leadville  (our  destination). 
Still  up,  up  our  massive  engine  toiled,  through  very  rugged 
and  wild  rocks,  with  here  and  there  open  fields  and  vast 
meadows.  At  8000  feet  high  we  were  surprised  to  see 
potatoes  and  corn  growing  amidst  these  Rocky  Mountains. 

ILLNESS. — It  was  still  snowing  when  at  7-30  p.m.  we 
reached  Leadville,  10,200  feet  high,  the  highest  ground  we  had 
ever  put  foot  upon.  Up  to  this  point  we  had  not  felt  in 
the  slightest  degree  any  ill  effects  from  the  rarity  of  the  air, 
nor  did  we  at  the  Yellowstone  Park,  although  8000  feet  high, 
but  on  alighting  from  the  car  at  Leadville,  the  air  being  damp, 
cold,  and  foggy,  and  the  ground  covered  with  snow,  we  were 
immediately  seized  with  vertigo.  With  difficulty  we  reached 
the  hotel  and  engaged  rooms,  but  feeling  so  much  worse 
(owing  to  a  weak  heart)  we  were  compelled  'to  return  to  the 
depot  where  we  had  arrived,  and  by  8-30  p.m.  we  were  back 
in  a  sleeper,  having  had  to  give  up  all  thoughts  of  returning  to 
Denver  by  the  Pacific  track,  for  which  we  had  "  round  tickets." 


Owing  to  the  snow  we  did  not  leave  Leadville  till  3-30  a.m. 
About  6  a.m.  we  passed  again  through  the  Royal  Gorge  •  this 
time  it  was  full  of  sunshine,  the  rising  sun  sending  his  rays 
straight  up  it,  and  the  effect  was  nothing  like  so  striking  as  on 
the  day  before.  When  we  reached  Denver,  the  vertigo  had 
almost  gone,  and  in  a  few  days  we  forgot  all  about  it.  Our 
ticket  being  a  "  round  ticket "  was  not  available  to  return  by 
the  "  Royal  Gorge,"  so  we  had  to  pay  16  dollars  extra  (for 
the  two)  on  the  return  journey.  On  arriving  at  Denver  the 
obliging  secretary  of  the  railroad  company,  on  hearing  our 
explanation,  promptly  returned  us  the  16  dollars  in  exchange 
for  the  conductor's  receipt.  We  must  not  forget  to  mention 
the  kind  consideration  of  the  manager  of  the  Leadville  hotel 
when  we  were  compelled  to  leave  so  abruptly. 

MORE  PRAIRIE. 

On  Monday  at  noon  we  left  by  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
for  Kansas  City,  639  miles  distant,  which  we  reached  the  next 
morning  about  8  o'clock.  During  400  miles  of  that  weary 
journey  we  passed  no  town,  nor  hardly  a  village  with  50  houses 
in  it ;  it  was  all  endless,  trackless  prairie,  gradually  descending 
towards  the  Great  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  In  the  upper 
parts  the  "  bunch  grass"  abounds,  which  affords  good  food  for 
cattle  winter  and  summer.  We  came  into  first  touch  with  the 
Missouri  River  at  Kansas  City,  which  lies  on  its  south  bank. 
A  few  miles  above  St.  Louis  the  Missouri  joins  the  Mississippi, 
the  "  Father  of  Rivers,"  performing  a  paradox  in  nature,  of 
the  greater  being  merged  into  the  less,  for  the  Missouri  is 
2908  miles  long,  whilst  the  Missouri  is  only  1330  miles  long 
at  their  junction,  which  is  1211  miles  from  New  Orleans,  thus 


I32 

giving  a  total  length  to  the  Missouri  of  4119  miles.  A  similar 
paradox  occurs  in  the  Danube ;  at  Passau,  where  the  Inn,  a 
river  of  from  six  to  eight  times  greater  width  than  the  Danube, 
joins  it.  The  Danube  above  Passau  is  but  a  small  and  sluggish 
stream  of  green  water ;  here  the  Inn  loses  its  name  in  joining 
the  little  Danube. 

We  had  just  time  at  Kansas  City  to  catch  the  train  going 
on  to  St.  Louis.  There  was  no  Pullman  car  so  we  had  to  be 
content  with  the  ordinary  first-class ;  the  carriage  was  very 
crowded,  many  having  to  stand.  This  was  not  a  pleasant 
prospect  for  a  further  eleven  hours  journey.  We  ascertained 
that  this  week  was  the  great  fete  week  of  the  year  at  St.  Louis, 
and  par  consequence  the  train  was  overcrowded.  The  country 
now  began  to  appear  much  more  like  English  scenery ;  there 
were  fields  and  hedgerows,  stacks  and  homesteads.  The  vivid 
tints  of  autumn  had  begun  to  turn  the  foliage  of  the  summer 
into  marvels  of  transparent  colouring,  varying  from  pale  lemon 
to  deepest  crimson  ;  the  russet  contrasted  with  the  bright 
ochres,  while  they  in  their  turn  brought  out,  in  intense  relief, 
the  sombre  greens  and  bluish  greys  of  the  firs.  It  was  quite 
dark  when  we  reached  St.  Louis.  In  driving  from  the  station 
to  our  hotel  we  came  across  the  grand  "  Procession  of  the 
veiled  Prophet,"  (why  so  called  we  know  not).  We  had  a 
good  view  of  it,  and  saw  the  allegorical  representations  of  the 
months  of  the  year,  and  the  days  of  the  week,  each  month,  and 
day,  having  a  car  to  itself.  We  found  on  arrival  at  our  hotel 
that  we  had  to  pay  rather  dearly  for  our  view,  as  the  hotel 
prices  were  doubled  on  account  of  the  fete. 


ST.  LOUIS. 

Alas  !  how  often  realization  falls  short  of  anticipation.  So 
it  was  with  St.  Louis  !  Of  all  the  cities  in  the  States  we  had 
desired  to  see  (excepting  Washington  and  New  York)  our  pre- 
ference had  gone  out  towards  St.  Louis  as  the  busiest  centre 
of  industry.  For  forty  years  and  more  we  had  carried  in  our 
mind's  eye  the  brilliant  sky,  the  busy  wharves,  the  enormous 
warehouses  and  granaries  by  the  banks  of  the  blue  Mississippi 
crowded  with  majestic  steamers,  which  the  scenic  artist  of 
Charles  Russell  had  put  on  canvas  to  represent  the  city  of 
St.  Louis.  How  different  the  reality  !  What  a  great  misfor- 
tune it  is  that  the  coal  of  the  district  is  not  anthracite  instead 
of  being  bituminous !  Painful  as  it  is  for  us  to  write  it,  St. 
Louis  is  one  of  the  most  smoke-begrimed  cities  we  ever  saw,  or 
attempted  to  see,  for  we  crossed  that  most  magnificent  of 
bridges  (over  2000  yards  long,  which  so  gracefully  spans  the 
turbid  Mississippi)  in  order  to  obtain  the  finest  view  of  the  city, 
and  were  foiled  in  our  attempt,  by  reason  of  the  canopy  of 
smoke  that  hung  over  the  greater  part  of  it,  thus  realizing  the 
line  of  the  poet — 

"Manufacture  taints  the  ambient  sky." 

Nevertheless  we  were  very  much  pleased  with  St.  Louis,  it 
is  a  vast  city  with  about  500,000  inhabitants,  two-fifths  being 
Germans.  Broadway  and  Fifth  Street  possessed  some  very 
fine  shops,  though  the  public  buildings  are  not  very  striking. 
St.  Louis  however  boasts  two  beautiful  parks,  Lafayette  and 
Tower  Grove  Parks,  also  a  very  charming  botanical  garden,  the 
gift  of  a  Mr.  Shaw,  a  native  of  Sheffield,  in  England.  That 
which  gave  us  the  best  idea  of  the  wealth  of  the  city  was  the 


134 

magnificence  of  the  private  residences  of  many  of  its  most 
opulent  citizens  in  or  near  to  Forest  Park.  Our  visit  to  them 
was  made  more  interesting  because  we  were  politely  accom- 
panied by  Miss  B.  from  our  hotel,  who  gave  us  many 
interesting  particulars  relative  to  the  people  who  resided  in 
them,  and  of  the  receptions  which  she  at  times  had  graced 
by  her  presence. 

AN  EXHIBITION. — In  the  evening  we  visited  the  Exhibition 
building  and  saw  many  ingenious  inventions.  We  were  parti- 
cularly struck  with  the  working  of  a  steam  chisel  for  cutting 
and  carving  in  marble ;  it  was  held  in  the  hand  to  guide  it, 
and  the  rapidity  with  which  it  did  its  work  was  wonderful, 
probably  twenty  times  as  fast  as  if  done  in  the  ordinary  mode. 
A  very  good  string  band  was  playing  in  the  large  theatre, 
which  might  hold  between  3000  or  4000  people.  The  concert 
was  free,  and  persons  sat  indiscriminately  in  the  boxes,  pit, 
and  gallery  as  suited  their  convenience. 

CINCINNATI. 

The  next  afternoon  we  left  for  Cincinnati  by  the  "  Big 
Four,"  a  fanciful  but  comprehensive  name  they  give  to  the 
"track"  that  connects  the  four  Big  Cities  of  St.  Louis, 
Chicago,  Cincinnati  and  Cleveland.  The  railroad  route  was 
through  a  richly  agricultural  country  ;  the  Indian  corn,  which 
seemed  to  predominate  in  the  fields,  had  already  been  cut,  but 
it  was  left  out  in  stooks,  so  that  the  grain  might  be  well  dried 
before  it  was  gathered  in.  Here  as  in  our  last  journey  we 
began  to  realize  the  wondrous  beauty  of  the  American  "  fall," 
(as  they  call  the  autumn).  Towards  sunset  the  effect  was  most 
beautiful,  when  the  leaves  seemed  all  glowing  with  fire  as  the 


135 

sun  shot  his  declining  rays  through  the  trees.  Beautiful  as  the 
autumnal  tints  were,  we  were  told  that  they  were  often  much 
more  glorious  and  brilliant,  as  this  year,  owing  to  the  dryness 
of  the  season,  the  foliage  had  not  been  as  abundant  as  usual. 
We  passed  through  Indianopolis,  the  capital  and  largest 
city  of  Indiana,  a  little  before  dark,  being  just  able  to  obtain  a 
slight  glimpse  of  it.  We  reached  Cincinnati  after  dark. 

We  were  very  much  pleased  with  the  city,  but  it  is  only  a 
little  less  smoky  and  dirty  than  St.  Louis.  It  possesses  two  or 
three  fine  buildings,  notably  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 
the  New  City  Hall.  In  the  Square  where  the  large  Govern- 
ment Building  is,  there  is  the  beautiful  Tyler-Davidson 
Fountain,  which  is  celebrated  throughout  the  States  as  a  work 
of  art,  and  truly  it  is  worthy  of  its  reputation.  It  was  designed 
by  Von  Kreling,  and  cast  in  bronze  at  Munich.  This  square 
very  forcibly  reminded  us  of  one  of  the  squares  in  Vienna, 
where  there  is  a  similar  piece  of  bronze  work ;  and  no  wonder 
that  the  city  should  in  some  degree  assume  a  German  appear- 
ance when  we  remember  that  out  of  the  300,000  inhabitants 
100,000  of  them  are  Germans. 

We  visited  Eden  Park,  a  very  pleasant  suburb,  situated  on 
the  hills  to  the  East  of  the  city.  The  electric  car  in  which  we 
rode  when  it  came  to  the  foot  of  the  steep  hill,  ran  on  to  a 
stage  on  wheels,  and  was  then  with  all  the  passengers  in  it, 
elevated  bodily  by  the  inclined  plane  railway  to  the  top,  and 
then  continued  its  journey.  Cincinnati,  like  all  other  Ameri- 
can towns,  has  numerous  charming  villa  residences,  nearly  all 
detached,  with  well  kept  gardens  and  trees  surrounding  them. 
While  at  Eden  Park  we  were  caught  in  another  of  those  terrible 
thunder  storms.  The  next  morning  was  beautifully  fine.  We 


.36 

went  in  another  electric  car,  up  a  similar  elevator  to  that  at 
Eden  Park,  to  Mount  Auburn,  also  500  feet  above  the  city, 
where  we  had  a  very  fine  view  of  it  and  the  surrounding 
country.  We  were  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  the  "  Buck-eye  State," 
so  called  from  the  buck-eye  tree,  a  kind  of  horse -chesnut. 
Below  us  was  the  city,  bordered  on  its  southern  side  by  the 
river  Ohio,  which  separated  it  from  Kentucky,  into  which 
State  we  could  see  for  many  miles.  The  Ohio  is  a  good  broad 
river,  even  here.  It  has  the  steepest  banks  of  any  non-tidal 
river  we  ever  saw,  being  from  20  to  30  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  water,  which  at  that  time  was  low.  The  inference  we  drew 
was,  that  it  is  subject  to  great  and  spasmodic  risings,  owing  to 
its  being  the  only  outlet  for  the  waters  that  collect  after  violent 
storms,  in  its  tributary  streams  on  the  western  side  of  the 
Allegheny  Mountains. 

CLEVELAND. 

A  very  pleasant  railway  journey,  again  through  a  richly 
agricultural  country,  radiant  in  the  brilliant  autumnal  sunshine, 
brought  us  at  nightfall  to  the  charming  and  important  city  of 
Cleveland  (pop.  261,353)  by  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie.  Owing 
to  the  number  of  beautifal  trees  that  line  its  magnificent  streets, 
notably,  Euclid  Avenue,  it  has  obtained  the  name  of  the 
"  Forest  City."  The  half  of  Cleveland  is  fair,  and  alas  !  the 
other  half  is  far  from  that ;  for  here  as  at  St.  Louis  the  reeking 
manufacturing  chimneys  belching  forth  flames  and  black  clouds 
of  smoke  defile  the  atmosphere,  and  the  beautiful  valley  which 
the  enormous  viaduct  spans,  is  turned  into  a  very  "  inferno," 
with  its  Stygian  stream  of  inky  waters  flowing  through  it. 
Baedeker  says,  "  The  view  of  the  manufacturing  quarters  in 


"  the  valley  from  this  viaduct  is  imposing,  especially  at  nighty 
It  is  not  often  that  we  find  that  eminently  practical  vade  mecum 
facetious,  but  we  think  that  there  is  a  little  fun  lurking  in  the 
phrase  "-especially  at  night,"  a  time  generally  considered  only 
favourable  for  fireworks  and  illuminated  waterfalls.  -  When  we 
went  to  see  the  VIEW  it  was  day  light,  and  we  thought  with 
Baedeker,  that  the  view  was  "  imposing,"  for  we  could  see 
little  or  nothing  but  smoke,  and  then  the  artful  writer  anticipa- 
ting our  disappointment,  gets  out  of  the  difficulty  by  saying 
that  it  is  imposing  "  especially  at  night" 

HEROES. — Wade  Park  at  the  extreme  end  of  Euclid  Avenue 
(4^  miles)  is  very  beautiful,  and  contains  some  splendid  trees 
and  pretty  sheets  of  ornamental  water,  it  adjoins  Lake  View 
Cemetery,  where  the  handsome  GARFIELD  Memorial  is  erected, 
at  a  cost  of  ^2 5,000.  America  loves  to  honour  her  sons, 
whether  they  be  warriors,  patriots  or  statesmen.  There  is  not 
a  city  of  note  but  contains  at  least  a  dozen  or  more  statues,  in 
its  parks  or  squares,  of  eminent  and  distinguished  citizens.  It 
would  alone  fill  pages  of  our  little  work  to  give  in  detail  a 
description  of  the  paintings,  statues,  monuments,  obelisks,  or 
imposing  arches  raised  by  a  grateful  people  to  the  honour  and 
memory  of  him  who  was  while  living  "  first  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen,"  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  !  What  a  wealth 
of  love  has  the  nation  lavished  in  honour  of  one  of  its  bravest 
and  most  favoured  warriors,  in  erecting  that  magnificent 
Grecian  Mausoleum  in  the  Riverside  Park,  New  York,  wherein 
to  enshrine  the  ashes  of  ULYSSES.  S.  GRANT.  It  almost 
rivals  the  world  famed  tombs  of  Caecilia  Metelli  at  Rome,  and 
that  of  the  ambitious  Hadrian.  Let  us  turn  for  a  moment 
from  these  heroic  men,  who  fought  battles,  gained  victories, 


138 

and  made  to  prevail  the  causes  they  espoused,  and  yet  left  the 
battle  field  unscathed,  to  one  who  was  no  less  a  hero ;  although 
his  battles  were  of  minor  import  in  the  history  of  his  nation 
than  those  of  the  other  two.  They  fought  an  open  enemy ;  he 
fearless  and  bold,  had  to  meet  a  secret  one,  and  bravely,  nobly, 
heroically  he  met  his  fate  in  the  very  hour  of  his  victory. 
A  nation  mourned  him,  as  hardly  any  other  man  was  ever 
mourned,  and  the  whole  world  shared  its  grief.  These  thoughts 
are  aroused  in  us  as  we  remember  that  grand  statue  in  Lincoln 
Park,  Chicago,  which  depicts  a  tall,  gaunt  figure  in  laical 
costume,  with  head  bent  as  if  in  deep  meditation,  and  with  a 
face  full  of  melancholy  and  sorrow — that  man  was  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN  ! 

MOVING  HOUSES. — Fifty  years  ago  we  remember  friends 
from  the  States  visiting  our  family,  exciting  our  childish  wonder- 
ment by  telling  us  that  in  America  the  people  moved  their 
houses  from  one  street  to  another  when  they  were  tired  of 
their  locality.  In  Cleveland  we  saw  this  operation  going  on 
twice  ;  once  in  the  fashionable  Euclid  Avenue.  In  this 
instance  the  house  (of  course  built  of  wood)  was  so  large  that 
it  was  necessary  to  saw  it  in  two,  and  very  odd  it  was  to  see 
the  house  crawling  as  it  were  slowly  down  the  garden  on  rollers, 
leaving  the  kitchen  and  its  appurtenances  behind.  We  were 
told  that  even  brick  and  stone  houses  were  sometimes  moved. 
How  different  the  primitive  buildings  of  the  States  are  to  those 
now  erected.  The  earlier  wooden  structures  just  rested  upon 
the  ground,  like  the  houses  in  Japan,  which  being  mere 
capacious  habitable  baskets,  pass  through  two  or  three  earth- 
quakes in  a  day  without  any  serious  inconvenience  to  the 
occupants  beyond  a  few  minutes  gentle  rocking  and  a  cracked 


139 

plate  or  two.  Contrast  this  with  the  wonderful  foundations 
laid  for  those  massive  34-storied  structures  in  Chicago.  In 
New  York  the  foundations  are  on  the  solid  rock,  but  in 
Chicago  they  are  only  on  the  lake  delta,  and  piles  40  feet  long 
have  been  driven  down  to  the  level  where  the  walls  have  to 
come,  and  then  layers  of  concrete,  enclosing  iron  rails  to  bind 
it  together,  are  laid  over  the  piles,  and  then  massive  blocks  of 
stone  on  them  for  the  superstructure  to  rest  on. 

DUNKIRK. 

Once  more  for  a  night  we  found  ourselves  under  the  hos- 
pitable roof  of  our  friends  at  Dunkirk,  who  would  not  listen  to 
our  passing  through  on  our  way  to  Niagara  again,  without 
coming  to  see  them. 

GRAPES. — On  our  previous  visit  we  had  noticed  many 
fields  of  grapes — we  perhaps  ought  to  say  vineyards — and  now 
it  was  the  vintage  we  had  the  pleasure  of  tasting  them.  We 
liked  them  very  much,  they  were  sweet  and  pulpy,  and 
possessed  an  agreeable  flavour,  and  were  of  a  fair  size.  They 
were  remarkably  cheap,  not  only  for  America  but  compared 
with  European  grapes.  The  grapes  also  in  Rochester  were  of 
a  similar  character,  if  any  thing,  finer.  We  purchased  there  for 
a  "Nickel,"  (ajd.)  more  grapes  than  one  could  possibly  eat. 
There  were  both  white  and  black  grapes.  The  vineyards  are 
but  a  recent  introduction  in  the  Eastern  States.  We  think 
that  the  cultivation  of  the  vine  there  has  a  great  future  before  it. 

NIAGARA. 

The  next  day  we  bade  adieu  to  our  friends,  expressing  the 
hope  of  meeting  them  again  some  day  in  Europe.  We  spent 
a  few  hours  at  Niagara,  but  as  we  have  already  recorded  under 


140 

the  head  of  "  Niagara  Falls,"  our  notes  of  our  second  visit  we 
shall  say  no  more,  except  to  add  that  we  found  the  electric 
cars  are  propelled,  lighted,  and  heated  by  electricity  here. 
About  9  o'clock  that  night  we  reached 

ROCHESTER,  N.Y. 

Rochester  is  sometimes  called  the  "City  of  Flowers."  It 
was  too  late  in  the  year  to  see  them,  for  the  trees  had  fallen 
into 

"  The  sear  and  yellow  leaf." 

and  "  chill  October  "  was  making  snow  showers  of  the  lemon 
tinted  leaves  that  fell  from  the  trees  which  everywhere  lined 
the  suburban  avenues.  In  its  gay  yellow,  autumnal  robe,  it 
was  more  like  a  fairy  city  than  a  reality  ;  yet  Main  Street,  the 
one  great  business  thoroughfare,  was  active  and  full  of  life,  and 
presented  an  attractive  and  mundane  appearance.  Once 
Rochester  was  celebrated  for  its  Falls ;  it  will  ever  be  cele- 
brated for  the  magnificent  Gorge  through  which  they  have 
made  their  way.  It  is  very  like  that  at  Spokane,  and  is 
spanned  by  a  very  handsome  suspension  bridge.  The  river 
that  goes  over  the  Fall  is  called  the  Genesee  ;  but  again  com- 
mercial enterprise  has  nearly  swallowed  it  all  up,  and  this  time 
literally,  for  if  we  are  correctly  informed,  it  has  been  turned 
into  beer,  by  the  numerous  and  far-famed  breweries  on  its 
banks.  We  saw  "  Rochester  Laager  Beer  "  advertised  in  every 
eastern  city  we  visited.  Rochester  is  still  very  young,  never- 
theless it  has  some  fine  buildings,  foremost  stands  the  enormous 
"  Powers  Building,"  which  contains  a  fine  hotel  and  many 
public  offices.  The  City  Hall  and  Government  Building  is  a 
chaste  and  classical  edifice.  Through  the  civility  of  one  of 


the  officials  we  saw  over  the  public  departments  in  it,  and  also 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Judicature,  and  were  struck  with  their 
finish  and  completeness. 

LAW  COURTS. — We  visited  the  Session  House  and  saw  a 
gang  of  handcuffed  prisoners  leave  it  to  march  to  prison  ;  great 
liberty  was  allowed  them,  as  their  friends  walked  and  chatted 
with  them.     We  heard  a  trial  before  the  Recorder  and  a  jury, 
relative  to  the  damage  done  to  a  standing  crop  of  hay  by  a 
spark  emitted  from  a  passing  engine.      Neither  Judge   nor 
Counsel  wore  forensic  costume  ;    otherwise   the   proceedings 
appeared  to  be  conducted  on  English  lines.    There  is  of  course 
a  difference  between  a  Barrister  and  a  Solicitor  in   America, 
but  a  man   can  hold  both  qualifications  at   one  time,  and  can 
follow  them  at  will,  separately,  as   occasion   requires.     The 
court  was  addressed  with  becoming  respect  by  both  counsel, 
and  neither  in  this  nor  any  other  court  did  we  notice  that  free- 
dom of  speech  and  comment  that  is   said  to  prevail  in  the 
American  Inferior  Courts.     We  believe  that  in  the  case  we 
heard,  the  leading  counsel  was  a  year  or  two  ago  the  judge,  and 
that  the  then  judge  may  be  next  year  the  leading,  or  even 
junior  counsel,  for  the  office  of  the  State  Judges  is  in  all  cases 
periodically  elective.      There  is  no   great   objection    to   the 
offices  being  elective,  but  to  be  elected  only  for  a  short  period, 
and  perhaps  to  have    to   solicit    re-election   at    the    hand   of 
possible  or  actual  litigants,   must  be  in  a  great  measure   des- 
tructive to  the  independence  of  the  Bench,  and  must  tend  to 
mar  the  honourable  discharge  of  its  functions.     We  were  told 
that  the  salaries  attached  to  the  post  were  quite  inadequate  to 
maintain  the  dignity  of  the  office,  and   resulted   sometimes  in 
the  selection  of  inferior  men,  as  abler  men  were   unwilling  to 


142 

give  up  their  more  remunerative  general  practice  for  probably 
a  fleeting  honour.  As  a  lawyer,  this  elective  practice  seems 
to  us  a  grave  blot  on  their  "Judiciary."  If  we  spoke  of  the 
minor  officials  connected  with  the  administration  of  the  law, 
and  their  temporary  holding  of  their  elective  offices,  we  might 
be  trenching  on  politics,  therefore  we  will  discreetly  close  this 
paragraph. 

RE-UNION. —  At  Rochester  dwelt  some  of  those  social 
magnets  that  had  drawn  us  across  the  broad  Atlantic  to  visit 
the  shores  of  America,  and  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  our 
friends  we  spent  four  pleasant  and  happy  days.  On  one  of 
those  days  we  were  chaperoned  by  a  young  lady  of  five,  who 
called  for  us  in  her  own  buggy  to  go  with  her  to  her  "  Kinder- 
Garten,"  and  few  hours  of  our  life  have  been  more  enjoyable 
than  the  one  which  we  spent  with  those  little  terrestrial  angels, 
in  seeing  them  open  their  tiny  intelligences  to  receive  the  first 
germs  of  knowledge.  We  think  that  this  must  have  been  an 
exceptionally  nice  "  Garten,"  as  there  was  so  much  affection 
and  kindness  thrown  into  the  work  by  the  mental  bud  developer. 
Some  years  ago  we  remember  seeing  an  infant  school  in  Swit- 
zerland with  a  sign  up,  designating  it  "  Paradis,"  and  when  we 
thought  of  the  cuffs  and  the  corners,  and  the  tears,  and  the 
hard  lessons,  we  thought  the  term  was  a  parody,  yet  Paradise 
was  the  «'  Garden  "  where  the  "  Tree  of  Knowledge  "  grew  in 
the  midst.  One  of  the  object  lessons  that  day  was  a  sprig  of 
the  horse-chesnut  tree,  shewing  the  horse's  hoof  upon  it  with 
the  nails — hence  its  sobriquet,  "  horse."  We  were  50  years 
old  before  we  became  acquainted  with  this  interesting  little 
fact,  and  probably  many  of  our  readers  may  not  have  heard  it 
before. 


A  BALLOTING  MACHINE. — We  now  turn  from  the  simple 
to  the  complex,  the  balloting  machine,  complex  only  in  the 
number  of  its  parts,  and  yet  so  simple  that  a  child  might 
understand  its  working.  Through  the  kindness  of  the  Inventor 
we  were  shown  its  operation.  It  would  be  impossible  to 
describe  it  in  all  its  details  with  exactitude,  in  fact  it  would  be 
almost  beyond  the  power  of  the  patentee  himself  to  do  so. 
The  object  is  to  secure  secret  voting  and  to  prevent  mala  fide 
on  the  part  of  the  voter,  and  as  far  as  we  could  test  it  with  all 
our  opposing  wit,  it  did  its  work  efficiently.  Imagine  a  room 
the  size  of  a  ship's  state-room,  with  entrance  and  exit  doors  on 
the  same  side.  After  a  man  enters  he  closes  the  door,  and 
that  door  cannot  be  opened  again  until  he  opens  and  closes  the 
exit  door  ;  the  exit  door  can  only  be  opened  from  the  inside. 
Supposing  the  voter  entered,  he  is  cut  off  from  all  external 
communications.  The  cabinet  is  lighted  by  electricity.  The 
first  thing  the  voter  sees  before  him  is  a  series  of  what  we  will 
call  ordinary  doorbell  pulls,  fixed  one  above  the  other ;  against 
each  "  pull "  is  affixed  the  name  and  office  of  the  candidate. 
Let  us  suppose  that  there  are  two  candidates  for  the  office  of 
Mayor,  three  for  Town  Clerk,  and  two  for  magistrate.  He  has 
only  one  vote,  he  votes  for  the  mayor  first  by  drawing  out  the 
"  pull  "  against  A,  his  selected  candidate.  Were  he  meafr 
enough  to  tamper  with  the  ballot,  and  tried  to  push  the  "pull" 
back  so  that  he  might  draw  it  out  again,  he  would  find  it 
locked,  and  if  he  tried  to  vote  for  B  the  second  candidate,  he 
would  find  that  "  pull  "  locked  too.  The  same  observations- 
apply,  after  he  has  given  his  first  vote,  to  the  "pulls"  as  to 
Town  Clerk  and  Magistrate.  He  has  only  one  vote  and  he 
only  can  give  one  vote  for  each  person.  When  he  leaves  the- 


144 

cabinet  and  closes  the  exit  door,  that  unlocks  the  entrance  door, 
and  unlocks  and  places  back  in  proper  position  all  the  "  pulls" 
ready  for  the  next  voter  to  use.  The  number  of  every  vote  is 
registered  automatically  on  separate  dials,  placed  on  the  out- 
side of  the  cabinet,  but  concealed  from  view  by  a  locked  door 
or  shutter.  When  the  election  is  over,  the  door  is  opened 
and  the  result  of  the  election  is  known  in  a  moment.  The 
total  number  of  votes  registered  for  each  candidate  is  seen  at 
once.  The  tediousness,  and  often  inaccuracy  of  counting 
ballot  papers  is  thus  avoided.  The  arrangement  seems  to  us 
to  be  perfect  and  is  much  used  in  the  States. 

MORMON  BIBLE. — On  Saturday  we  bade  adieu  to  our  good 
friends  and  took  the  early  train  for  Boston.  We  passed 
Palmyra,  where  Joseph  Smith  the  Mormon  Prophet  claimed 
to  have  found  the  golden  plates  of  the  "  Mormon  Bible."  The 
journey  occupied  1 1  hours  and  was  not  very  interesting.  We 
passed  through  the  Hoosac  Tunnel,  4!  miles  long  (the  longest 
tunnel  in  America).  Its  construction  cost  over  ,£3,000,000. 
We  reached  Boston  about  8  p.m. 

BOSTON. 

The  next  morning  as  we  went  to  Church  we  could  fancy 
that  during  the  night  we  had  been  transported  to  England, 
everything  had  such  an  English  appearance.  The  streets  were 
no  longer  straight,  cutting  each  other  at  right  angles,  but 
crooked  and  devious  and  at  first  rather  puzzling.  Most  of  the 
dwelling  houses  were  of  red  brick,  with  the  old  fashioned  bow 
windows  of  the  last  century.  On  the  western  side  of  the 
common  we  could  well  have  imagined  that  we  were  walking  up 
the  hill  at  Richmond  in  Surrey. 


145 

THE  COMMON. — "Boston  Common"  has  now  developed 
into  a  well  regulated  and  ornamental  park  right  in  the  centre 
of  the  city.  We  sought  out  its  "Long  Path,"  where  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes  in  «  The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table, ' 
lays  the  scene  of  one  of  the  most  romantic  and  concise  pro- 
posals and  acceptances  we  know  of.  The  two  met,  who  had 
long  known  each  other  at  the  common  table,  by  accident  on 
the  Common  near  the  "Long  Path."  Addressing  the  school- 
mistress the  Professor  said,  "  Will  you  take  the  "  Long  Path" 
with  me?"  "  Certainly,"  said  the  schoolmistress,  "with  much 
pleasure."  "Think,"  I  said,  "before  you  answer;  if  you  take 
the  long  path  with  me  now,  I  shall  interpret  it  that  we  are  to 
part  no  more."  The  schoolmistress  stepped  back  with  a  sudden 
movement  as  if  an  arrow  had  struck  her.  "  Pray  sit  down," 
I  said.  "  No,  no,"  she  answered  softly  ;  "  I  will  walk  the  long 
path  with  you." 

PATIENCE  EXEMPLIFIED. — One  night  a  public  dinner  had 
taken  place  in  our  hotel.  On  passing  the  hat  room  we  saw  in 
the  corridor  about  50  or  60  men  standing  in  queue  the  last,  as 
the  second,  patiently  awaiting  his  turn  to  obtain  his  hat  and 
coat.  In  England  we  are  afraid  it  would  have  been  different. 
They  manage  these  things  better  in  America. 

PUBLIC  BUILDINGS. — There  are  so  many  objects  of  interest 
to  see  in  Boston  (population  close  upon  half  a  million)  that  we 
hardly  know  where  to  begin.  They  say  that  Washington 
Street  is  the  busiest  street  in  the  world  ;  it  is  very  narrow,  con- 
tains many  splendid  "  Stores,"  and  is  always  crowded  ;  the 
young  people  here  jostle  and  push  past  you,  perhaps  a  little 
unceremoniously.  The  tram  cars  congest  the  road  traffic,  and 
thus  add  to  the  general  confusion.  We  sought  refuge  in  a 


i46 

carriage,  and  we  will  ask  the  reader  to  accompany  us  in  our 
rapid  glance  at  the  chief  points  of  interest  in  Boston.  Proceed- 
ing down  Tremont  and  Boylston  Streets  we  reached  Copley 
Square,  (which  appears  to  be  much  more  an  irregular  triangle 
than  a  square).  It  is  adorned  with  some  beautiful  buildings. 
First  on  the  left  is  the  solid  but  beautiful  Romanesque  Church 
of  Holy  Trinity  ;  it  is  unique  and  singularly  effective.  The 
Rev.  Phillips  Brooks  (late  Bishop  of  Massachusetts)  was  Rector 
here  for  22  years.  Then  we  passed  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts, 
with  its  valuable  collections,  (unfortunately  closed)  and  arrived 
at  the  PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  one  of  the  gems  of  American  archi- 
tecture. Although  the  exterior  is  somewhat  cold,  yet  it  is 
dignified  and  impressive,  and  the  interior  is  palatial,  with  its 
noble  marble  staircase,  rich  decorations,  and  beautiful  Italian 
Court.  At  the  Western  corner  of  the  square  is  a  new  church 
(Italian  gothic)  with  an  imposing  tower ;  it  has  a  very  contra- 
dictory title,  namely,  "  New  Old  South  Church."  It  is  the 
lineal  descendent  of  "  Old  South  Meeting  House,"  (the  most 
sacred  shrine  in  Boston)  at  the  corner  of  Washington  Street. 
Benjamin  Franklin  was  baptized  at  the  Old  Meeting  House  in 
1706,  and — strange  anomaly — it  was  from  its  doors  that  the 
Bostonians,  disguised  as  wild  Indians,  set  out  to  throw  the  tea 
(on  which  an  exhorbitant  tax  had  been  imposed)  into  the 
harbour  in  1773.  The  old  building  now  belongs  to  a  patriotic 
society,  and  contains  interesting  relics  of  Washington  and 
others.  Among  the  curious  objects  hung  on  the  walls  is  a 
word  from  the  Red  Indians'  Bible,  compiled  by  Eliot;  it  is  the 
longest  word  we  ever  saw,  and  is  worthy  of  the  famous  literary 
city  where  it  finds  itself.  It  contains  33  letters, 

WUTAPPESITTUKQUPUNNAKWCHTRINKQUOH, 

and  means  "kneeling  down  to   Him." — Mark  i.  40.     From 


147 

Copley  Square  we  drove  down  Commonwealth  Avenue, 
one  of  the  finest  residential  streets  in  America,  and  then 
through  Beacon  Street,  which  is  the  "aristocratic"  street 
of  Republican  Boston.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  lived  at 
No.  296.  These  two  streets  are  built  upon  the  reclaimed 
tidal  flats  of  the  Charles  River.  At  the  river  end  of 
the  Avenue  is  a  striking  statue  of  Leif  Ericson,  the  rival  or 
rather  predecessor  of  Columbus,  for  he  landed  with  his  Norse- 
men at  Port  Allerton  in  the  nth  century.  From  here  we 
obtained  a  good  view  of  the  city  and  of  the  famed  Bunker  Hill 
with  its  granite  obelisk.  The  morning  was  fresh,  the  river  was 
sparkling,  the  long  bridge  across  the  Charles  River  lay  inviting 
and  our  driver  suggested  that  he  should  take  us  to  Cam- 
bridge, (pop.  70,000)  about  3  miles  away,  the  seat  of  the 
celebrated 

HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. — "Harvard"  somewhat  reminded 
us  of  Eton.  It  has  a  quiet  and  academic  air,  and  some  of  the 
modern  buildings,  especially  Sever  Hall,  and  the  noble 
MEMORIAL  HALL  (erected  in  memory  of  the  members  of  the 
University  who  fell  in  the  Civil  War)  were  striking  examples  of 
architecture.  We  saw  the  large  hall  in  the  latter  building,  with 
the  tables  set  for  dinner,  1000  students  dine  there  daily. 

GLASS  FLOWERS  ! — We  are  not  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of 
wax  flowers,  much  less  of  glass  flowers,  but  the  collection  of 
glass  flowers  in  the  Museum  at  Harvard  surpasses  all  that  we 
could  have  imagined  of  the  beautiful  in  that  art.  The  glass 
flowers  are  natural  sized  models  of  almost  every  rare  variety  of 
flower  to  be  found  in  America ;  they  are  for  the  especial 
use  of  students  in  botany.  The  stamens,  pistils,  and  ovaries 
of  each  flower  are  also  placed  by  its  side,  and  these  are  many 


i48 

times  enlarged,  the  better  to  be  studied.  We  were  so  charmed 
with  this  collection  that  we  came  a  second  time  to  inspect  it. 
Nature  seemed  rivalled  in  its  representation. 

THE  COMMON. — We  stood  under  the  famous  ELM  where 
Washington  assumed  command  of  the  American  army  on  3rd 
July,  1775.  Close  to  is  Christ  Church,  built  of  materials 
brought  from  England. 

LONGFELLOW. — We  never  saw  Longfellow  in  the  flesh,  but 
it  was  our  good  fortune  when  in  Rome  in  1869,  to  be  intro- 
duced to  the  sculptor  of  the  far-famed  "Greek  Slave,"  Power, 
and  he  shewed  us  a  bust  which  he  had  just  sketched  of  the 
lion  headed  poet,  Henry  W.  Longfellow.  It  was  life-like,  and 
we  have  felt  ever  since  as  though  on  that  occasion  we  had  seen 
two  of  America's  greatest  sons  in  poetry  and  art.  Longfellow, 
who  might  be  called  more  properly  the  angel-hearted  poet, 
lived  for  45  years  (till  his  death  in  1882)  at  Craigie  House, 
at  Harvard.  The  villa  is  pleasantly  situated,  overlooking  the 
ever  fresh  and  sparkling  Charles  River,  and  the  southern 
portion  of  Boston. 

MOUNT  AUBURN  CEMETERY. — A  little  further  on  we  reach 
the  most  beautiful  of  cemeteries,  with  its  little  hills  and  dells, 
pretty  lakelets,  looking  so  bright,  with  the  sunshine  sparkling 
amidst  the  golden  leaves  of  the  maple  trees.  Veiled  in  this 
sylvan  scene  of  repose  and  rest,  we  descried  on  a  little  smooth 
grass  grown  elevation,  a  simple  classic  tomb  with  one  word 
engraved  upon  it — LONGFELLOW.  Around  reposed  the  ashes 
of  Lowell,  Motley,  Artemus  Ward,  and  others. 

STATE  HOUSE. — Boston  boasts  many  fine  buildings,  first 
among  which  the  State  House,  with  its  grandly  gilded  dome, 
stands  out  commandingly  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  Common. 


149 

The  Government  Building  (including  the  Post  Office)  is  an 
imposing  building  with  a  French  roof,  a  very  common  feature 
in  American  public  buildings.  The  Old  State  House  still 
exists,  it  is  small  and  unpretending.  It  has  recently  been 
restored,  and  our  thoughts  were  carried  back  to  the  past  by 
seeing  "  The  British  Lion  and  Unicorn  "  adorning  its  front. 
Whatever  may  appear  on  the  surface,  deep  down  in  the  hearts 
of  the  American  people  there  lies  an  ineradicable  feeling  of 
attachment  and  affection  for  the  "  Old  Country."  We  were 
conscious  from  the  first,  that  the  kind  consideration  shown  to 
us  was  because  we  were  English,  and  only  on  that  account. 
Wherever  we  went  we  were  gratified  to  hear  our  beloved  Queen 
always  spoken  of  by  the  American  ladies,  with  reference  to  her 
womanly  character  and  virtues,  in  terms  of  the  highest  eulogy, 
and  although  her  sceptre  sways  no  longer  over  these  lands, 
yet  as  an  honoured  and  illustrious  lady,  exemplifying  that 
which  is  highest  and  best  in  womanhood,  she  influences  many 
loyal  and  devoted  hearts. 

NE  WPORT. 

NEWPORT. — If  there  is  any  town  in  the  States  that  can  lay 
claim  to  be  aristocratic,  it  is  Newport,  Rhode  Island.  A 
short  and  pleasant  journey  through  a  well  wooded  and  well 
watered  country,  brought  us  to  this  delightful  sea-side  resort. 
Newport  is  very  fashionable  and  exclusive,  the  richest  and  best 
families  in  America  reside  here  for  months  during  the  summer 
to  enjoy  the  refreshing  breezes  of  the  Atlantic,  and  the  charm- 
ing scenery  around.  Some  of  the  so-called  "Cottages"  are 
palatial,  notably,  the  marble  mansion  of  Mrs.  Vanderbilt.  We 
have  nothing  in  England  that  corresponds  to  Newport.  It  is 


essentially  a  Society  resort.  As  we  have  said,  it  is  very 
exclusive.  There  is  a  Society  or  Club  called  "  The  Four 
Hundred."  One  qualification  at  least,  for  a  candidate  for 
election  as  a  member,  is,  that  he  must  have  inherited  wealth. 
No  admission  for  "  self  made  men  "  here,  however  rich  they 
may  be  ;  whether  he  is  a  rich  banker  or  a  rich  grocer,  it  is  all 
the  same,  he  is  not  admissable,  but  the  son  of  either  of  them 
would  be,  probably  because  it  would  be  assumed  that  he  would 
be  educated  The  neatness  of  the  houses,  the  trimness  of  the 
gardens,  and  the  carefully  mown  and  well  kept  lawns,  denote 
the  ancestry  of  the  occupants,  for  nowhere  but  in  England  can 
such  be  seen. 

A  CARRIAGE  LIFT. — At  one  house  here  we  were  told  that 
the  ball  room  was  on  the  second  floor  (our  first)  and  that  when 
a  ball  was  given  the  carriages  of  the  guests  drove  into  the 
house  and  on  to  a  stage,  which  was  then  elevated  to  the 
second  floor  The  guests  alighted  and  walked  straight  into  the 
ball  room,  then  the  stage  was  lowered,  the  carriage  drove  out, 
and  another  took  its  place.  These  Americans  are  wonderfully 
enterprising  people. 

It  was  very  pleasant  in  the  brilliant  sunshine  of  the  after- 
noon, steaming  up  the  Narraganset  Bay  to  Wickford,  where  we 
took  train  for  New  York.  The  journey  was  full  of  interest  till 
night  closed  upon  us,  and 

"  By  punctual  eve  the  stars  were  lit." 

We  passed  many  interesting  towns  and  crossed  the  broad 
estuary  of  the  noble  Connecticut  River.  The  factories  of 
Bridgeport  were  all  ablaze  with  light  as  we  passed  through  it, 
and  looked  quite  en  fete.  It  is  here  that  the  celebrated  Wheeler 
and  Wilson,  and  the  Howe  sewing  machines  are  manufactured. 


We  reached  New  York  safely  and  soon  found  ourselves 
"  located  "  in  the  Westminster  Hotel,  a  very  comfortable,  quiet 
and  genteel  house.  It  was  here  Dickens  stayed  during  his 
residence  in  New  York  ;  we  saw  the  rooms  he  had  occupied. 
Things  have  greatly  changed  since  then. 

NEW  yORK. 

The  best  way  to  have  a  good  general  idea  of  a  city,  is  to 
obtain,  if  possible,  a  bird's  eye  view  of  it.  This  is  not  a  diffi- 
cult thing  to  do  in  a  place  having  houses  24  stories  high, 
but  we  preferred  to  see  New  York  from 

BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. — This  bridge  is  one  of  the  engineering 
triumphs  of  the  world  It  is  5990  feet  long,  and  135  feet 
above  high  water  level.  It  has  two  railroad  tracks,  two  carriage 
ways  and  a  spacious  central  footpath.  We  crossed  the  bridge 
in  the  cars  and  returned  on  foot,  walking  more  than  a  mile. 
The  day  was  beautifully  clear,  and  the  view  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. The  East  River  was  all  alive  with  busy  steamers  and 
large  ships  ;  Brooklyn  lay  behind  us,  and  the  southern  portion 
of  the  beautiful,  bright  and  unique  city  in  front  of  us.  New 
York  is  certainly  the  cleanest  city  in  the  States — we  mean 
atmospherically  clean.  The  secret  of  all  this  is,  that  they  burn 
anthracite  in  their  furnaces.  We  saw  many  smokeless  chim- 
neys, and  only  steam  escaping  from  the  top  of  the  buildings. 
We  spent  altogether  three  weeks  in  New  York,  and  every  day 
was  fully  occupied.  We  should  weary  our  kind  readers  it  we 
were  to  record  all  we  saw,  and  as  we  have  no  desire  to  write 
anything  in  the  shape  of  a  guide-book,  we  must  epitomise. 

THE  CITY. — The  city  of  New  York  is  unique  in  its  situa- 
tion. Let  us  take  a  map  and  lay  it  before  us.  We  are  at 


once  struck  with  its  resemblance  to  a  ship  ;  it  has  a  stem  and 
a  stern,  but  unfortunately  for  our  simile  it  has  its  back  broken 
in  the  fore  part,  and  presents  rather  an  uneven  keel.  -  Like  a 
ship  should  be,  it  is  entirely  surrounded  by  water.  Again  at 
its  bow  it  carries  its  figure  head ;  in  the  picturesque  Castle 
Gardens  and  Battery.  She  is  a  cargo  boat  and  carries  her 
freight  somewhat  forward,  and  towards  her  stern  is  the  quarter 
deck,  composed  of  the  aristocratic  or  rather  wealthy  quarters 
of  Fifth,  Maddison,  and  Lenox  Avenues.  In  her  centre  is  the 
state  saloon  in  the  shape  of  the  Central  Park.  The  city  is 
about  ten  miles  long  and  a  little  over  two  miles  broad  at  its 
widest.  It  slightly  rises  from  the  rivers  on  either  side  to  its 
centre,  and  has  a  solid  foundation  of  rock  for  its  often  immense 
buildings  to  rest  upon. 

The  old  part  of  the  city  is  a  little  more  complex  in  its 
street  arrangements  than  the  central  and  western  parts,  which 
are  regular  and  cut  each  other  at  right  angles  ;  avenues  run- 
ning north  and  south,  and  streets  east  and  west.  New  York 
is  a  very  fine  city  in  whatever  aspect  it  is  viewed,  whether 
commercially  or  residentially,  and  is  the  Empire  City  of  the 
Western  World.  It  abounds  in  magnificent  public  buildings, 
enormous  commercial  structures,  overwhelming  hotels,  fine 
churches,  beautiful  theatres  and  opera  houses,  gigantic  stores, 
and  splendid  mansions,  and  possesses  a  noble  cathedral.  It 
has  spacious  squares  graced  by  beautiful  monuments,  fountains, 
and  statuary,  and  in  its  centre  is  found  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful natural  and  ornamental  parks  in  the  world,  and  as  we  have 
said,  it  is  marvellously  clean  and  abounds  in  fresh  air  and 
sunshine. 

WALL  STREET,  &c. — Broadway,  Fifth  Avenue,  and  Wall 
Street,  are  known  all  over  the  world.  One  or  two  days  we  spent 


'53 

entirely  in  the  city,  visiting  the  Stock  Exchange,  with  its  noisy 
clamour,  the  massive  Produce  Exchange,  with  one  of  the  largest 
rooms  in  the  States.  At  one  end  of  the  room  is  a  round  pit, 
30  feet  in  diameter,  and  6  feet  deep,  with  steps  round.  Here 
corn  and  stock  are  sold  to  the  highest  bidder.  We  conceived 
from  this  how  "rings"  were  formed.  Every  five  minutes  the 
Chicago  quotation  was  displayed  on  a  large  disc  on  the  wall, 
and  that  in  some  measure  guided  the  biddings.  It  seemed 
easy  for  a  "  ring  "  to  run  up  or  run  down  prices. 

ASSAY  OFFICE. — This  insignificant  looking  building  is  in 
Wall  Street.  On  entering  it  we  saw  a  veritable  Plutus  pouring 
molten  gold  into  moulds,  and  making  auriferous  gofers.  In 
another  department  we  tried  to  lift  an  ingot  of  gold  worth 
;£i6oo,  and  failed,  and  elsewhere  we  saw  silver  reduced  to  a 
liquid  state  ;  a  glass  of  apparent  water  was  offered  to  us,  which 
we  were  told  was  dissolved  silver,  and  to  remove  our  doubts 
some  grains  of  coarse  salt  were  thrown  into  it,  when  there  were 
instantly  precipitated  beautiful  pearly  spiral  deposits,  and  this 
sediment  afterwards,  by  various  subtle  processes,  could  be 
turned  back  into  veritable  and  almost  unalloyed  silver. 

FULTON. — Crossing  Broadway  we  visited  Trinity  Church, 
a  modern  Gothic  edifice,  built  on  the  site  of  one  of  the  oldest 
city  churches.  The  income  it  derives  from  property  is 
^50,000  a  year;  it  is  probably  the  best  endowed  church  in 
the  world,  and  has  many  churches  and  charities  dependent 
upon  it.  Fulton  (the  pioneer  of  steamboat  navigation,  if  not 
the  originator  of  it)  lies  buried  in  its  churchyard  ;  unaided  we 
could  not  have  found  the  sacred  spot,  for  not  even  a  head- 
stone, much  less  a  monument,  marks  his  resting  place.  He  lies 
in  the  vault  of  the  Livingstones,  into  which  family  he  entered 
by  marriage. 


BROADWAY. — We  return  to  Broadway.  This  street  is  any- 
thing but  "  broad.1'  A  hundred  years  ago  it  might  have  been 
considered  so.  It  is  however  a  very  long  street,  some  five 
miles  or  more,  and  is  full  of  handsome  shops,  public  buildings, 
and  theatres.  It  is  very  central,  and  one  way  or  another  we 
found  ourselves  in  its  cable  cars  nearly  every  day.  We  now 
reach  City  Hall  Park,  containing  the  Post-office,  (a  very  large 
and  commanding  building  with  the  usual  Mansard  roof)  and 
the  City  Hall  and  Court  House. 

CITY  HALL. — A  hundred  years  ago  no  doubt  the  City  Hall 
was  considered  a  very  fine  building  for  so  small  a  city  as  New 
York  then  was.  Now  it  is  a  very  small  building  for  so  fine  a 
city  as  New  York  now  is.  The  Governor's  room  is  historically 
interesting  as  it  contains  the  chairs  used  at  the  first  U.S.  Con- 
gress, the  chair  in  which  Washington  was  inaugurated  President, 
and  the  desk  at  which  he  wrote  his  first  message  to  Congress. 
These  relics  brought  us  very  near  in  thought  to  the  scenes  they 
formed  a  part  of,  and  turning  round  we  saw  Washington  look- 
ing down  upon  us  from  a  canvas  on  the  wall. 

THE  TOMBS.  — Not  far  off  are  the  Tombs,  (significant  name) 
a  heavy  gloomy  looking  building  in  the  Egyptian  style.  The 
Old  City  Police  Court  is  here,  but  it  is  now  disused.  Through 
the  courtesy  of  the  "  Warden  "  we  saw  over  the  Tombs  Prison, 
the  New  York  "  Newgate."  Here  were,  we  are  sorry  to  relate, 
several  murderers  condemned  to  the  "  chair,"  the  seat  of  death 
by  elecricity.  Two  cells  were  pointed  out,  as  being  the  cells 
of  two  notorious  scoundrels,  both  doctors,  who  about  the  same 
time  a  few  years  ago  had  each  poisoned  his  wife.  The  cells 
have  no  doors,  but  iron  lattice  work  gates,  answering  two 
purposes,  viz.,  good  ventilation,  and  constant  supervision. 


T55 

Great  liberty  is  allowed  to  the  prisoners,  in  seeing  friends 
and  having  the  free  use  of  tobacco.  The  prison  is  a  very  old 
one,  notwithstanding,  it  was  very  clean,  and  kept  in  good  order. 

CRIMINAL  COURTS. — This  new  building,  which  is  close  to, 
may  rank  with  the  most  striking  public  structures  of  New  York. 
It  consists  of  many  stories,  on  each  flat  are  separate  courts. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  there  are  elevators  to  each  flat,  for 
there  is  hardly  a  public  building  in  the  States  without  an 
elevator.  We  went  into  the  New  Police  Court ;  the  officials 
were  very  attentive  and  one  of  them  was  very  pressing,  that  we 
should  see  a  lad  of  15,  who  was  charged  that  morning  with 
having  chopped  off  a  man's  head.  We  expressed  no  desire  to 
do  so,  but  he  persisted  and  nolens  volens  pointed  him  out  to 
us.  The  miserable  boy  when  arrested  did  nothing  but  repeat, 
'•  Will  they  put  me  in  the  "chair"?  There  were  peculiar 
circumstances  mentioned  to  us  concerning  the  case,  that  make 
it  highly  improbable  that  he  will  have  to  be  placed  in  the 
"  chair." 

OTHER  COURTS. — We  then  visited  the  Courts  of  Equity 
and  the  Sessions  Court,  and  found  the  proceedings  conducted 
in  all  with  much  dignity  and  decorum.  There  was  as  usual — 
although  the  Judges  here  were  much  higher  in  rank  than  any 
others  we  had  yet  seen — neither  judicial  ermine,  nor  forensic 
robe.  We  were  told  however  that  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  are  robed  but  not  coiffed. 

PENITENTIARY  &  HOSPITAL.  —  A  permit  was  readily 
obtained  from  the  Commissioners  of  Public  Charities,  to  visit 
the  Penitentiary  and  Charity  Hospital  on  Blackwell's  Island 
in  the  East  River.  We  found  the  hospital  almost  precisely 
similar  to  an  English  hospital.  The  ventilation  and  cleanli- 


ness  were  perfect,  and  the  patients  seemed  attentively  cared 
for.  We  were  pleased  to  hear  ourselves  addressed  with  our 
native  accent,  by  the  Sister  in  charge  of  one  of  the  wards  ;  she 
had  come  over  to  perfect  herself  in  the  American  mode  of 
treating  the  sick. 

Unfortunately  for  us  we  arrived  at  the  Penitentiary  at  the 
dinner  hour,  when  it  is  closed  to  visitors ;  however,  on  press- 
ing our  request,  the  authorities  with  that  obliging  nature  so 
characteristic  of  the  Americans,  yielded  to  us,  and  allowed  us 
to  enter  and  see  one  cell.  Now  in  a  prison  one  cell  is  exactly 
the  same  as  another,  so  that  seeing  cne  we  saw  all.  It  was 
very  similar  to  the  cells  we  saw  at  the  Tombs.  This  prison  is 
a  modern  one,  having  no  cell  against  an  outer  wall  (as  we 
invariably  have)  but  the  long  lines  of  cells  are  placed  dos  a  dos. 
The  prison  dress  is  not  quite  so  outre  as  ours.  Every  thing 
we  saw  here  was  very  clean  and  orderly. 

ELEVATED  RAILWAYS. —The  City  is  girdled  by  an  elevated 
railway  running  by  3rd  Avenue  one  way,  and  returning  by  pth 
Avenue  the  other.  This  passes  through  the  formerly  notorious 
street  called  The  Bowery  ;  the  last  50  years  has  made  a  great 
change  in  its  character.  By  taking  this  railroad  one  can 
obtain  in  the  course  of  an  hour  a  very  fair  idea  of  the  size  of 
New  York.  Another  elevated  track  runs  the  length  of  First 
and  Second  Avenues.  There  are  other  tracks. 

PRINCIPAL  BUILDINGS. — We  can  only  give  a  passing  glance 
at  these  coming  up  Broadway.  From  the  city  one  sees  a  very 
graceful  little  Gothic  Church,  with  its  equally  charming  vicar- 
age. The  church  in  its  name  agrees  with  its  appearance,  for 
it  is  called  GRACE-CHURCH  ;  it  is  quite  one  of  the  ornaments 
of  the  citv.  The  Roman  Catholic  CATHEDRAL  of  St.  Patrick's 


157 

is  a  pleasing  example  of  decorated  Gothic,  having  two  perfor- 
ated spires.  It  is  built  of  white  marble.  It  is  too  much 
surrounded  by  buildings  to  look  imposing,  and  like  the 
Cathedral  at  Montreal,  it  is  pewed.  Domestic  architecture, 
(leaving  out  the  gigantic  hotels,  except  a  passing  mention  of 
the  very  beautiful  Waldorf  and  the  lofty  New  Netherlands)  is 
represented  by  the  two  noble  mansions  of  Mrs.  W.  H.  Vander- 
bilt  and  her  daughters,  and  two  picturesque  Chateaus  in  the 
French  style  belonging  to  other  branches  of  the  great  Vanderbilt 
family,  all  in  Fifth  Avenue.  Also  by  a  dwelling  house,  that 
we  venture  to  describe  as  in  "  new  American  "  style,  and  this 
example  best  illustrates  our  former  reference  to  the  use  of  the 
deep  recessed,  and  expansive  arch  in  American  architecture ; 
we  refer  to  the  celebrated  and  unique  TIFFANY  HOUSE  on 
Maddison  Avenue.  This  Avenue  is  a  very  select  one,  but 
tolerates  a  tramway,  which  however  is  obliged  to  be  worked 
underground  in  the  centre  of  the  street,  and  the  tunnel  is 
covered  with  pleasant  gardens.  The  more  aristocratic  Fifth 
Avenue  does  not  tolerate ,a  tramway,  and  suffers  from  a  badly 
paved  road,  and  the  most  noisy  and  ugly  line  of  omnibuses  we 
have  seen  in  any  city. 

The  University  is  a  stupendous  and  lofty  building  in  Wash- 
ington Square,  very  unacademic  in  appearance.  Here,  if  we 
remember  aright,  the  arch,  very  high  up,  becomes  a  prominent 
feature  in  its  style.  Adjacent  to  this  in  the  same  square,  is 
the  Washington  Centennial  Arch,  a  minor  reproduction  of  the 
Arch  of  Constantine  in  Rome  ;  Fifth  Avenue  may  be  said  to 
start  from  this  arch.  We  now  come  to,  in  that  Avenue,  the 
immense  business  premises  of  the  "  Methodist  "Book  Concern," 
a  singular  title  for  one  of  the  largest  book  houses  in  the  world. 


158 

We  were  obligingly  shown  over  it,  and  saw  book  making  in 
nearly  all  its  stages,  from  the  preparation  of  the  electro-type  to 
the  binding  of  the  books.  The  Board  room  of  the  "  Concern  " 
contains  good  portraits  of  various  Presidents  of  the  American 
Methodist  Church.  We  visited  many  of  the  enormous  stores, 
among  them  "  Tiffany's,"  the  renowned  jewellers,  and  became 
entangled  in  its  golden  web. 

New  York  abounds  in  Colleges,  Museums,  Hospitals,  and 
(a  special  and  unique  feature)  in  Armouries ;  if  their  soldiers 
are  not  visible,  their  strongholds  are,  and  some  of  these  are 
great  ornaments  to  the  city.  There  are  many  fine  statues. 
We  were  particularly  struck  with  the  life-like  pose  of  that  of 
Admiral  Farragut.  Maddison  Square  Garden  is  a  very  fine 
building  with  a  handsome  tower.  Why  it  should  be  called  a 
garden  is  an  enigma  to  us,  as  it  is  a  large  hall,  very  similar 
to  our  Islington  Agricultural  Hall,  with  the  addition  of  a 
theatre,  &c.  It  was  in  this  hall  that  the  horse  show  was  held 
in  November,  and  at  this  "  show  "  all  the  elite  of  New  York 
was  present,  and  a  very  gay  and  animated  scene  it  was.  On 
that  occasion  the  "Duke  and  Duchess"  were  there,  the 
cynosure  of  every  eye.  At  the  end  of  Maddison  Avenue  is  the 
fine  and  commodious  Grand  Central  Railway  Depot.  The 
Clubs  of  New  York  take  rank  among  its  most  handsome 
buildings.  The  Progress  Club  is  a  magnificent  creation  in 
white  marble.  We  must  not  omit  to  mention  one  building 
which  has  obtained  an  unrivalled  celebrity  in  American  politics, 
if  not  architecturally,  that  is  "Tammany  Hall/' 

NEWSPAPERS. 

The  newspaper  offices  of  New  York  are  in  themselves  a 
remarkable  feature  among  the  public  buildings  of  the  city. 


159 

The  Herald,  first  of  the  leading  "Dailys,"  is  content  with  the 
lowliest  of  quarters,  yet  withal  exquisite  in  design  and  finish, 
resembling  more  a  Venetian  palace  than  a  printing  office. 
Then  comes  the  Tribune,  with  its  high  clock  tower ;  and  lastly, 
over  topping  all,  rises  the  proud  dome  of  the  World  (310  feet 
high)  being  one  of  the  highest  buildings  in  the  city.  News- 
papers in  the  States  are  cheap,  relatively  to  other  things,  but 
although  they  are  published  at  2  to  3  cents  one  can  rarely  buy 
them  for  less  than  a  "  nickel."  The  public  mind  ought  to  be 
well  informed,  for  there  are  no  less  than  50  daily  papers  in  New 
York  and  about  300  weekly.  High  as  the  standard  of  the 
leading  "Dailys"  is,  one  cannot  help  but  feel  some  surprise, 
that  they  should  use  such  melo-dramatic  and  sensational 
headings  for  the  various  items  of  intelligence,  especially  as  to 
those  relating  to  murders  and  horrible  tragedies.  Every  morn- 
ing on  opening  one's  paper  there  is  the  same  ghastly  array  of 
news,  bluntly  and  repulsively  displayed.  Each  heading  might 
have  been  arranged  by  that  great  master  of  thrilling  descriptive 
realism,  Zola,  or  at  least  by  skilled  redacteurs  who  have  drawn 
inspiration  from  his  sensational  works.  We  quote  a  few  of  such 
headings  taken  at  random  : — 

BOY  SLAYER  TELLS 

THE  SAME  STOKY. 


Young  Beresheim    persits    in    declaring    That   He 
Killed   Krauel  in  Self-Defence. 


HAD  ATTACKED  HIM  BEFORE. 


When  the  Restaurant  Keeper    Refused    Him  Money  the  Boy  Assailed 
Him  with  a  Penknife. 

HE    MAY    ESCAPE    CONVICTION. 


i6o 


WAS    CLUBBED 

BY   POLICEMEN. 


Patrick  Kehoe  Badly  Hurt  by  Bluecoats  of  the  Macdougal  Street  Station, 


HAD    TO    CALL    A    SURGEON. 


Six  Scalp  Wounds  Were  Dressed  by  a  Doctor  Summoned  from  a  Hospital. 


CAUSE    OF    THE    TROUBLE. 


SHOT    IN    HIS    HOME 

BY    A   BURGLAR. 


John   Smith,    Returning    Home    Early    Yesterday 
Morning,    Encounters  a   Murderous   Thief. 


A    BULLET    IN     HIS    LUNGS. 


The  Wounded  Man  Smoked  a  Cigar  at   the  Station  While  Awaiting 
the  Ambulance. 

CONFEDERATE    WAS    ARMED. 
John  Smith  was  shot   and  seriously  wounded. 


LYNCHEBS  PAUSE 

FOR  PRAYERS. 


With  a  Rope  Around  a  Negro's  Neck  the  Mob  Permits  a  Salvation  Army 
Girl  to  pray  for  the  Accused. 

MOB    HANGS    AND    SHOOTS    HIM. 

He  asked  a  Maryland   Woman  for    Food  and    After   Being   Supplied 
Turned  Upon  Her. 

JAIL    EASILY    BROKEN    INTO. 


SAYS  HIS   CRONY 

POISONED  HIM. 


Strange    Belief    in    Mysterious   Hoodoo    Medicine 
Shown   by    a   Dying   Negro. 

CONSUMPTION     HIS    DISEASE, 

Buckner  Says  That  He  Saw  Johnson  Put  a  Powder  in  Turner's  Glass. 
CORONER    REFUSES    TO    ACT, 


THE  NORMAL  COLLEGE. — We  consider  this  college  to  be 
one  of  the  sights  of  New  York.  Here  2500  young  women  are 
trained,  and  very  highly  trained,  gratuitously,  by  the  State, 
with  a  view  to  taking  service  as  teachers  in  the  State  schools. 
Through  the  kindness  of  the  principal,  Dr.  Hunter,  we  were 
privileged  to  see  the  assembling  of  the  2500  in  the  large  hall 
at  9  a.m.  They  entered  in  marching  order,  to  a  lively  air 
played  on  the  piano  by  the  Professor  of  Music.  It  took  them 
about  three  minutes  to  gain  their  seats,  after  that,  one  could 
have  heard  a  pin  fall,  so  intense  was  the  silence.  Discipline  is 
very  rigidly  maintained  in  this  college.  Each  girl  sat,  and 
stood,  almost  in  the  same  attitude.  After  a  hymn,  there  was 
a  short  reading  of  the  Bible.  The  college  is  strictly  unde- 
nominational, Jews,  Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants  attend 
alike.  Then  the  Principal  gave  a  short  and  very  practical 
address,  as  to  the  rights  and  responsibilities  of  the  private 
property  of  the  young  ladies,  with  certain  admonitory  cautions 
and  suggestions,  and  some  grave  hints.  The  students  were 


162 

dismissed  in  the  same  order,  after  which  Dr.  Hunter  politely 
shewed  us  through  the  calisthenic,  carving,  and  cooking 
departments. 

MUSEUMS.— We  visited  the  Art  Museum  in  the  Central 
Park.  Great  enterprise  has  been  shewn  in  collecting  the 
antique,  especially  in  the  Cypriote  collection,  and  in  obtaining 
copies  or  casts  of  some  of  the  most  ancient  and  noble  works  of 
art  in  the  Old  World.  We  were  greatly  pleased  with  the 
Natural  History  Museum  and  its  splendid  collection.  We  were 
amused  in  being  received  at  the  entrance  by  an  old  friend,  in 
the  shape  of  the  skeleton  of  the  famous  JUMBO  !  The  col- 
lections of  shells  and  of  birds  were  particularly  interesting,  but 
the  great  charm  of  the  place  was  in  its  lofty  and  well  lighted 
rooms,  and  in  the  artistic  and  natural  manner  in  which  the 
animals  were  displayed,  showing  their  habitats.  A  huge  octapus, 
some  20  or  30  feet  from  the  tip  of  one  extremity  to  the  opposite 
extremity,  hangs  suspended  from  the  ceiling  in  one  of  the 
rooms. 

WASHINGTON. 

Perhaps,  before  New  York,  travellers  think  of  Washington 
as  the  chief  and  most  beautiful  city  of  the  States.  It  is  rather 
a  misfortune  than  otherwise  to  over  praise  a  place.  We  well 
remember  before  our  first  visit  to  the  Rhine,  a  friend  saying 
to  us,  "  it  is  an  over  praised  river,"  this  remark  toned  down 
our  expectations,  and  we  were  not  disappointed  ;  we  could 
wish  it  had  been  so  with  Washington.  We  had  anticipated  too 
much.  In  its  tout  ensemble  we  were  disappointed.  In  detail 
it  is  magnificent,  and  abounds  with  beautiful  public  buildings, 
and  wide  and  noble  streets,  but  it  lacks  concentration.  We 


•63 

had  perhaps  expected  to  see,  as  at  Vienna,  (with  its  unrivalled 
Ringe  Strasse)  a  galaxy  of  architectural  gems,  or  to  find,  as  in 
ancient  Rome,  its  Capitol  approached  through  an  avenue  of 
temples  and  by  triumphal  arches.  Washington  ought  to  have 
been  the  finest  city  of  the  world,  as  it  is,  it  holds  a  very  high 
rank.  Beginning  with  its  stupendous  and  grandly  imposing 
Capitol,  in  whatever  quarter  we  go  some  noble  and  beautifully 
proportioned  building  presents  itself,  either  the  Treasury  or  the 
War  or  Navy  Departments,  or  the  Post  Office,  or  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior  or  other  Public  Buildings,  and  last  and 
least  the  unpretending  White  House.  Had  all  these  been 
grouped  in  a  magnificent  square  or  polygon,  with  the  Capitol 
dominating  one  side,  and  the  Washington  Obelisk  (555  ft.) 
adorning  its  centre  in  the  midst  of  sparkling  fountains,  green 
lawns  and  brilliant  parterres,  Washington  might  have  ranked 
as  the  Queen  City  of  the  World  ! 

Washington  is  peculiarly  placed.  We  might  perhaps  cause 
a  little  amusement  to  some  of  our  readers  were  we  to  ask 
them,  "In  what  State  is  Washington?  Which  claims  it, 
Virginia  or  Maryland  ?"  As  most  of  our  readers  no  doubt 
know,  it  is  in  no  State.  It  lies  in  a  sort  of  no-man's-land  ;  it 
has  a  district  of  its  own  of  about  65  square  miles,  called  the 
District  of  Columbia.  It  is  unrepresented  in  Congress,  and 
has  no  district  representatives.  With  a  population  of  200,000 
every  one  of  its  inhabitants  is  disfranchised.  In  the  centre 
of  a  Republic  it  has  probably  the  most  oligarchical  government 
in  the  world.  The  President  appoints  three  Commissioners 
to  rule  and  regulate  it,  and  Congress  exercises  a  controlling 
power.  It  does  not  even  possess  a  Town  Council  or  a  Mayor. 
The  people  have  no  voice  in  local  affairs,  and  cannot 


164 

regulate  the  paving  of  a  street,  or  lighting  even  of  a  lamp. 
Yet  they  seem  content  with  this  arrangement.  About 
80,000  coloured  persons  reside  in  Washington. 

THE  PENSION  BUILDING. — We  have  referred  to  the  most 
beautiful  buildings  of  the  city,  we  now  refer  to  this  for  two 
reasons,  chiefly  on  account  of  its  size,  as  it  is  just  like 
a  huge  ornamental  red  brick  barn.  It  has  one  of  the  largest 
rooms  in  the  world,  and  at  the  Presidential  inauguration  ball 
20,000  guests  are  gathered  and  entertained  in  this  one  room. 
The  eight  huge  pillars  which  help  to  support  the  roof  are  eight 
feet  in  diameter.  A  second  reason  for  specially  referring  to  it 
is,  that  here  are  stored  the  pension  papers  (hence  its  name). 
It  is  not  until  we  arrive  in  this  enormous  room  where  the  roll 
of  1,200,000  pensioners  is  kept  that  we  realise  that  we  are  in 
the  midst  of  a  nation  of  warriors,  who  (or  whose  relatives)  draw 
in  time  of  peace  for  pensions  alone,  a  sum  of  no  less  than 
140,000,000  dollars  a  year.  It  seems  incredible,  for  one  never 
sees  a  soldier  in  the  streets,  nevertheless  the  soldiers  are  there 
we  may  be  assured,  or  the  pensions  amounting  to  ,^28,000,000 
a  year  would  not  be  paid.  We  may  draw  two  conclusions 
from  this,  first,  that  there  are  plenty  of  men  willing  to  fight, 
and  secondly  that  the  nation  pays  liberally  for  their  services. 

THE  TREASURY. — This  is  an  immense  building  in  white 
stone  or  marble,  with  porticoes  and  colonnade ;  next  to  the 
Capitol  it  is  the  finest  building  in  the  city,  it  is  over  500  feet 
long,  but  it  is  badly  placed,  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get 
a  commanding  view  of  it.  Here  as  we  have  already  stated, 
bullion  to  the  value  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  is  stored, 
ready  to  meet  the  notes  in  circulation  ;  the  weight  of  these 
precious  metals,  gold  and  silver,  exceeds  5000  tons.  We  were 


shewn  over  the  silver  vaults.  The  massive  iron  entrance  gates 
close  and  open  by  clock  work,  and  woe  to  the  man  who  is  on 
the  inner  side  at  closing  time ;  once  locked  in,  the  gates  can 
no  more  be  opened  until  the  opening  time  next  morning. 
This  imprisonment  has  happened  more  than  once ;  fortunately 
food  and  drink  can  be  passed  to  the  prisoner  as  the  gates  are 
made  of  bars.  It  is  here  that  the  "  Greenbacks  "  are  destroyed 
to  the  value  of  1,000,000  dollars  a  day ;  before  being  destroyed 
the  forged  ones  are  eliminated,  and  these  are  returned  to  the 
banks  from  which  they  came.  The  old  notes  are  cut  up  and 
then  reduced  [to  a  pulp  by  a  machine.  Various  objects  of 
interest  are  made  out  of  this  papier-mache.  We  possess  a 
small  slipper  made  of  it  and  said  to  be  made  out  of  notes  once 
worth  5000  dollars. 

NEW  CONGRESS  LIBRARY.— Near  to  the  lofty-domed  Capi- 
tol, a  new  building  is  in  course  of  construction,  to  be  used  as 
a  Congressional  Library.  It  has  already  received  its  gilded 
cupola,  and  is  nearing  completion.  It  is  an  enormous  struc- 
ture 470  feet  long,  and  will  cost  6,000,000  dollars.  Beautiful 
and  imposing  as  the  exterior  is,  it  is  absolutely  eclipsed  by  the 
magnificence  and  splendour  of  the  interior.  Encumbered  as 
it  was  by  scaffolding  when  we  saw  it,  we  felt  so  impressed  that 
we  unhesitatingly  placed  it  in  the  foremost  rank  of  American 
buildings,  and  it  may  well  vie  with  some  of  the  finest  public 
civic  edifices  in  Europe. 

A  RENCONTRE. — The  world  after  all  is  very  small.  At  the 
hotel  here  we  met  with  a  friend  of  our  friend  at  Tacoma,  and 
this  reminds  us  of  a  very  curious  incident  which  occurred  to  us 
at  our  hotel  at  Cleveland,  relative  to  the  same  friend.  Hearing 
there  a  gentleman  addressed  by  the  secretary  as  Mr.  F.  (the 


i66 

name  being  to  us  an  unusual  one)  we  asked  the  secretary  if  he 
cafne  from  Tacoma,  and  from  what  the  secretary  said — think- 
ing that  the  gentleman  was  a  relative  of  our  friend  at  Tacoma — 
we  addressed  him  thus  :— "Excuse  me,  sir,  your  name  is  F., 
have  you  a  brother  at  Tacoma?"  He  said  "Yes."  We  said 
"  Is  he  a  solicitor  ?  "  He  said  "Yes."  We  began  to  feel  now 
pretty  sure  that  we  had  made  a  good  hit,  but  to  clench  it 
further  we  said,  "  Is  he  a  partner  with  Mr.  X  ?"  He  said  "  Yes 
he  is."  Now  we  felt  certain  that  he  was  the  brother  of  our 
friend,  and  said,  "We  were  sorry  to  leave  your  mother  so  ill." 
He  said — giving  a  long  pained  and  surprised  look — "  Sir,  I 
have  no  mother,  she  has  been  dead  seventeen  years."  So  then 
it  appears  after  all  these  singular  coincidences,  that  he  was  not 
the  brother  of  our  friend,  but  the  brother  of  one  who  had  form- 
erly been  a  partner  with  Mr.  X.  He  was  however  a  cousin. 
WATER  MELONS  AND  BLUE  POINTS. — When  water  melons 
go  out,  "  blue  points,"  we  suppose  come  in.  The  water  melon 
deserves  a  passing  notice,  not  so  much  on  account  of  its  being 
a  most  delicious  and  thirst  satisfying  esculent  in  the  hot  season, 
but  by  reason  of  its  sesthetical  claims.  Rough  in  its  exterior, 
of  a  greenish  hue,  and  in  size  like  a  massive  football,  it  is  when 
cut  into  a  perfect  gem  of  art  from  the  wonderful  combination 
of  its  colour.  The  outer  part  is  of  a  beautiful  emerald,  gradually 
toning  to  almost  white  for  an  inch  or  more ;  then  comes  the 
pulp  all  sparkling  and  juicy,  of  the  most  lovely  pink  colour, 
in  pleasing  contrast  to  the  green,  and  then  as  if  to  heighten 
the  contrast  of  both  pink  and  green,  it  is  studded  with  the 
brightest  black  pips  as  large  as  beans.  In  England  this  kind 


i67 

of  water  melon  is  almost  unknown,  but  in  America  it  is  as 
common  as  blackberries.  The  first  of  this  kind  of  water 
melon  that  we  ever  saw  was  on  board  the  "  Campania? 

The  transition  from  melons  to  oysters  does  not  seem  to  be 
very  happy,  yet  we  believe  the  sequence  to  be  quite  en  regie 
from  a  gustatory  point  of  view.  Some  years  ago  at  a  very 
recherche  dejeuner  in  Denmark,  after  the  soup  (it  might  have 
been  oyster  soup)  slices  of  melon  were  served,  and  we  beg  to 
offer  this  precedent  as  our  apology  for  the  combination, 
and  proceed.  The  ''London  Native,"  if  he  is  little,  is  good, 
and  holds  a  very  high  reputation,  and  if  we  say  that  "  Blue 
Points  "  are  good  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  we  in  any  way 
would  lower  the  estimation  of  the  "  Native  "  in  the  esteem  of 
our  readers.  The  "Blue  Point"  is  a  little  larger  and  fatter 
than  its  rival,  yet  it  possesses  an  exceedingly  delicate  flavour. 
Something  of  its  excellence  may  be  due  to  the  inviting  manner 
in  which  this  delicious  bivalve  is  served.  What  can  be 
more  seductive  to  the  palate,  on  sitting  down  to  dine,  than 
to  see  five  fresh  fat,  newly  opened  oysters  laid  invitingly  in 
their  shells,  on  a  plate  full  of  broken  ice,  with  the  daintiest 
little  silver  trident  by  their  side  as  an  oyster  fork  ?  Since  then 
oysters  without  ice  have  been  de  trop  to  us. 

MOUNT  VERNON. 

It  may  seem  strange  for  a  man  to  desire  to  be  buried  in  his 
own  garden,  but  a  hundred  years  ago  it  was  a  common  prac- 
tice, especially  among  the  Quakers.  We  have  seen  tombs 
among  the  gooseberry  bushes,  and  under  the  apple  trees,  in 
the  gardens  of  old  Quaker  families  in  England  There  was  a 
pleasant  homely  feeling  about  it,  sentimental  we  admit,  but 


i68 

what  would  life  be  without  sentiment  ?  The  dying  felt  that 
they  were  not  to  be  torn  away  from  their  friends,  and  the 
living  realized  that  they  had  their  dead  with  them  yet.  It 
required  good  consciences  to  carry  out  this  little  arrangement, 
otherwise  the  survivor,  during  the  long  and  lonesome  winter 
nights,  might  realize  that  the  accusing  eyes  of  the  departed 
were  looking  in  at  the  chamber  window.  Cremation  seems  to 
have  found  a  scientific  way  of  getting  rid  of  spectres  and  ghosts 
for  the  guilty,  but  the  accusing,  etherialised  essences,  are  very 
subtle,  and  the  imperishable  flame  or  gas  that  has  escaped 
into  space,  may  be  more  troublesome  to  the  conscience  than 
the  relics  safely  immured  in  a  charnel  house.  Let  us  however 
pass  on  to  brighter  things ;  this  is  very  easy  to  do,  for  the 
morning  of  our  visit  to  Mount  Vernon  was  the  most  brilliant 
day  of  the  whole  sunny  autumn.  A  pleasant  hour's  steam  on 
the  broad  but  turbid  Potomac  brought  us  to  the  landing  stage 
for  charming  Mount  Vernon,  which  was  all  aglow  in  its  bright 
yellow  autumnal  foliage. 

THE  TOMB. — Riding  up  the  hill,  we  came  first  to  the  sacred 
sepulchre  of  him,  whose  name  in  the  centuries  to  come  shall 
stand  out  prominent  and  alone,  as  the  leader  and  deliverer  of 
his  people,  as  does  that  of  Moses  in  connection  with  the  exodus 
of  the  children  of  Israel.  It  would  not  become  our  pen  to 
write  aught  in  adulation  of  one  who,  great  in  life,  was  content 
to  lie  humbly  and  obscurely  enshrined  in  this  simple  vault  of 
brick,  erected  in  the  precincts  of  his  own  grounds,  with  his 
wife  by  his  side,  and  many  collateral  members  of  his  family 
around  him,  for  he  was  childless.  We  bowed  in  lowly  rever- 
ence before  the  simple  tomb,  and  thought  of  the  humility  of 
him  who,  by  a  word,  a  wish — nay,  by  his  very  silence,  could 


169 

have  claimed  the  richest  and  most  stately  mausoleum  that  the 
world  had  ever  seen. 

WASHINGTON'S  HOME,  was  a  gentleman's  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, modest,  country  house.  We  made  a  sketch  of  it  at  the 
time,  and  wish  we  could  reproduce  it  here.  Imagine  a  rather 
long,  low  two-storied  colour  washed  house,  with  dormer 
windows  in  its  low  roof,  and  green  Venetian  shutters  to  the 
lower  windows ;  the  whole  front  being  sheltered  by  a  lofty  colon- 
nade reaching  up  to  the  eaves  of  the  roof  and  supported  by 
eight  slender  square  wood  pillars.  These  elevated  colonnades 
are  a  peculiar  feature  in  American  architecture.  The  colon- 
nade has  a  balustrade  above  it,  going  the  whole  length  of  the 
front,  and  adding  much  to  the  dignity  and  importance  of  the 
house.  Rising  from  the  centre  of  the  building,  and  rather  to 
the  back,  appears  a  picturesque  little  lantern  turret,  terminating 
in  an  elegant  vane.  This  little  finial  gives  great  lightness  to 
the  whole  building,  and  adds  much  grace  to  it.  The  house, 
which  stands  on  an  eminence  200  feet  above  the  river,  faces  a 
pretty  timbered  park,  that  slopes  down  gradually  to  the  broad 
and  sunny  Potomac.  The  rear  of  the  house  is  little  less 
picturesque  than  the  front,  as  it  has  on  either  side  a  semi- 
circular low  colonnade  communicating  with  the  kitchen, 
laundry,  out  offices,  and  servants'  quarters,  the  house  having 
been  exclusively  occupied  by  the  family.  The  stables,  coach- 
house, dairy,  and  gardener's  house  formed  pleasant  and 
appropriate  adjuncts,  and  the  whole  of  the  back  part  of  the 
buildings  was  made  compact  by  a  trim  fencing  painted  in  white 
which  surrounding  it.  All  the  buildings  were  of  a  light  buff 
colour,  and  came  out  in  the  sunshine  in  pleasant  and  bright 
relief  against  the  well  kept  grass.  There  was  an  air  of  great 


simplicity  and  repose  about  the  whole,  and  every  thing  around 
was  serene  and  peaceful ;  there  was  not  a  breath  of  air  to  dis- 
turb the  leaves  of  the  maple  trees,  or  to  make  them  waver  in 
their  fall,  as  one  by  one  they  dropped  to  the  ground.  The 
river  was  so  peaceful  that  it  hardly  seemed  to  flow.  Not  a 
sound  broke  in  upon  the  quietude  of  the  scene  ;  all  was  hushed 
and  at  rest.  There  was  perfect  harmony  between  the  empty 
home  and  the  silent  graves.  A  sacredness  and  a  sanctity  per- 
vaded the  building.  Its  interior  has  been  so  deftly  arranged, 
with  the  old  furniture  and  belongings  as  in  the  time  of  the  living,* 
that  one  feels  in  crossing  its  threshold,  as  if  it  was  an  intrusion 
to  enter,  and  an  invasion  of  the  privacy  of  the  home-life  of  the 
departed,  all  is  so  simple,  so  real,  and  so  vivid.  We  passed 
through  its  silent  rooms  and  tenantless  chambers  with  gentle 
tread,  and  hushed  voices,  our  hearts  being  rilled  with  thoughts 
of  those  who  but  a  few  short  years  ago,  lived  in  calm  and  peace- 
ful repose  within  its  walls.  We  felt  very  near  to  them,  and  a  sense 
of  deepening  awe  came  over  us  as  we  stood  by  the  portals  of 
two  little  rooms,  with  their  simplebedsteads,  hungwith  plain  white 
dimity.  They  were  chambers  of  suffering,  but  in  one  case 
(that  of  Washington)  short  and  brief,  only  two  days.  His  last 
words  were,  "  I  die  hard,  but  I  am  not  afraid  to  go.  ...  I 
thank  you  for  your  attentions ;  but  I  pray  you  to  take  no  more 
trouble  about  me.  Let  me  go  off  quietly.  I  cannot  last  long." 
Three  years  after,  his  widow  rested  by  his  side. 

"  Lives  of  great  men,  all  remind  us, 

We  can  make  our  lives  sublime, 
And,  departing,  leave  behind  us 

Footprints  on  the  sands  of  time." 

*  Baedeker  says,  "  The  house  and  land  around  were  bought  by  The  Mount 
Vernon  Ladies'  Association  in  1859,  and  have  been  restored  as  nearly  as 
possible  to  their  condition  in  George  Washington's  life  time."  The  key  of 
the  Bastille  was  presented  to  Washington,  and  is  preserved  here. 


BALTIMORE. 

The  change  from  the  beautiful  and  bright  capital  to  the 
busy  streets  of  Baltimore  is  great  and  somewhat  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  the  latter.  Washington  is  a  city  of  politicians  and 
diplomatists,  and  Baltimore  of  merchants  and  manufacturers. 
Its  streets  teem  with  waggons  heavily  laden  with  merchandize, 
business  men  are  hurrying  to  and  fro  in  the  pursuit  of  com- 
merce, and  altogether  it  has  a  very  lively  and  busy  air.  The 
population  is  over  half  a  million.  It  has  some  fine  streets 
with  good  shops,  one  or  two  handsome  public  buildings, 
among  which  comes  out  prominently  the  new  City  Hall,  with 
its  stately  dome.  It  also  possesses  a  charming  little  square, 
called  Mt.  Vernon  Place,  in  the  centre  of  which  rises  a  lofty 
column,  with  a  colossal  statue  of  Washington  on  its  summit. 
The  square  is  surrounded  by  several  pleasing  buildings,  the 
Peabody  Institute,  and  the  very  handsome  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  being  the  chief.  Here  also  in  two  ordinary  dwelling- 
houses  is  the  celebrated  "Walter's  Collection,"  probably  the 
finest  private  collection  of  art  in  the  world  ;  unfortunately  for 
us  it  was  closed.  There  are  many  very  interesting  historical 
and  other  associations  connected  with  Baltimore.  Jerome 
Bonaparte,  brother  of  Napolean,  married  and  lived  here.  It 
was  here  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner  "  was  composed  b>  Key, 
oddly  enough  while  he  was  a  prisoner  on  board  a  British 
man-of-war  then  bombarding  fort  Me.  Henry.  Besides  Pea- 
body,  John  Hopkins  was  a  great  public  benefactor  to  the  city, 
leaving  3,000,000  dollars  to  build  a  splendid  hospital. 

We  left  Baltimore  for  Philadelphia  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
5th  November,  the  day  of  the  great  election.  There  was  some 
little  excitement  in  the  city  and  we  read  afterwards  that  there 


had  been  more  serious  disturbances  in  Baltimore  than  in  any 
other  city  in  the  States.  That  day  was  another  of  those 
beautifully  clear  and  bright  days  of  the  splendid  autumn. 
Towards  sunset  we  approached  the  viaduct  that  carries  the 
railway  over  the  wide  Susquehanna.  We  shall  never  foget  the 
beauty  of  that  scene ;  the  air  was  still,  not  a  leaf  rustled,  the 
atmosphere  was  so  transparent  that  it  almost  seemed  to  sparkle 
with  a  light  of  its  own,  the  broad  river  lay  tranquil  and  at  rest, 
as  smooth  as  glass,  with  its  surface  like  a  mirror,  doubling  the 
landscape.  The  sky  was  clear  and  blue,  softening  down  to  a 
pearly  tint  towards  the  horizon  ;  it  was  cloudless,  except  for 
one  little  cloud  that  floated  softly  in  that  great  blue  sea, 

"  As  though  an  angel  in  its  upward  flight 
Had  left  its  mantle  there." 

PHILADELPHIA. 

It  was  quite  dark  when  we  reached  Philadelphia.  As  we 
entered  it  we  had  mingled  feelings ;  for,  years  ago,  we  had  met 
two  friends  in  Europe  who  came  from  Philadelphia,  and  we 
had  long  cherished  the  hope  of  seeing  them  in  their  native 
city ;  but  it  was  not  to  be.  Still,  their  memories  were  very  pre- 
cious to  us.  We  had  however  the  pleasure  of  seeing  one  of 
the  boys  who  accompanied  them,  then  a  mere  stripling  of  ten, 
now  a  Benedict,  and  settled  in  his  own  pleasant  home. 

Philadelphia  is  a  wonderful  city  (population  over  1,000,000), 
and  Penn  was  a  wonderful,  far  seeing  man.  Although  it  is 
close  upon  a  hundred  miles  from  the  sea,  it  is  a  seaport,  and 
a  very  flourishing  one  too,  having  a  frontage  to  the  Delaware 
River  of  many  miles  Two  wide  main  streets,  Broad  and 
Market  Streets  are  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  and  intersect  each 


T73 

other  ;  all  the  other  streets  run  parallel  to  one  or  the  other  of 
these,  and  nearly  all  of  them  are  very  narrow.  Even  the  busy 
and  fashionable  Chestnut  Street  is  very  contracted,  although 
miles  in  length.  What  odd  names  some  of  the  streets  have! 
such  as  Cherry,  Walnut,  Pine,  Locust,  Filbert,  and  Spruce. 
The  houses  are  generally  of  red  brick,  and  from  two  to  three 
stories  high,  having  white  marble  steps,  and  one  family  to  one 
house,  hence  it  has  been  called  "  The  City  of  Homes." 
Philadelphia  boasts  of  having  a  City  Hall  which  is  the  largest 
building  in  the  United  States  ;  it  covers  over  4^  acres  of 
ground  and  contains  750  rooms.  The  capitol  at  Washington 
only  covers  3^  acres.  It  can  also  lay  claim  to  being  the  second 
highest  stone  structure  in  the  world,  if  one  adds  to  its  tower, 
which  is  510  feet,  the  height  of  the  mammoth  statue  of  William 
Penn  on  its  summit,  which  is  35  feet  more,  making  a  total  of  545 
feet.  The  magnificent  Post  Office,  although  not  so  large  as 
the  City  Hall,  is  far  more  striking.  It  cost  ^1,000,000,  and 
may  take  rank  as  the  finest  Post  Office  in  existence.  The 
Masonic  Hall  is  a  huge  but  fine  solid  structure  in  granite.  It 
is  Norman  in  style,  and  one  of  the  ornaments  of  the  city. 
Philadelphia  excels  more  in  quality,  than  in  any  other  respect, 
in  her  public  buildings,  but  besides  the  above  she  has  a  pictur- 
esque University,  the  white  marble  Drexel  Building  (used  as 
a  Stock  Exchange),  an  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  the  Girard 
College  and  the  handsome  Ridgeway  Library.  We  visited  the 
United  States  Mint,  and  saw  the  cabinet  of  coins,  the  chief 
object  of  interest  to  us  being  the  "  Widow's  Mite,"  found 
among  the  ruins  of  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  We  can  hardly 
reckon  Wanamaker's  Store  as  a  public  building,  but  it  is 
certainly  one  of  the  sights  of  the  city,  as  over  4500  assistants 
are  employed  there. 


174 

INDEPENDENCE  HALL. — The  great  interest  however  in 
Philadelphia  centres  in  its  historical  associations,  for  it  was 
here  in  "  Independence  Hall,"  (the  Old  State  House)  in  Chest- 
nut Street,  that  the  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 
was  signed  on  the  4th  July,  1776.  We  stood  beside  the  very 
table  on  which  the  declaration  was  signed,  with  the  silver 
inkstand  then  used,  and  saw  the  chair  in  which  the  President 
of  the  Congress  (John  Hancock)  sat,  with  the  emblem  of  a 
golden  sun  on  its  back,  concerning  which  Franklin  said  he 
often  wondered,  before  the  success  of  the  Revolution  was 
achieved,  whether  it  was  the  rising  or  the  setting  sun  ;  certainly 
the  year  after,  it  looked  very  like  a  setting  sun,  seeing  that  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  from  September,  1777  to  June  1778,  was 
in  possession  of  the  British.  The  fac-simile  of  the  "  Declaration" 
hangs  upon  the  wall,  the  original  is  carefully  preserved  at 
Washington.  It  is  interesting  to  look  around  and  see  the 
portraits  of  the  men  who  signed  this  "  Declaration,"  there  was 
no  mistaking  whose  "  KITH  AND  KIN  "  they  were,  from  the 
homely  Quaker  farmer  to  the  shrewd  merchant,  for  "John 
Bull  "  was  delineated  on  nearly  every  face.  In  the  hall  lies 
the  big  "  Liberty  Bell,"  now  fractured,  which  was  the  first  bell 
rung  in  the  United  States  after  the  signing  of  the  "  Declaration," 
it  was  then  supported  by  a  chain  of  13  links,  emblematical 
of  the  then  13  States  of  the  Union  (now  45.)  Oddly  enough 
in  the  adjoining  room  hangs  a  portrait  of  George  III.  and  if 
we  remember  aright,  of  several  other  P^nglish  kings  and  queens. 
In  Independence  Hall  the  first  United  States  Congress  was 
held,  with  Washington  as  its  first  President,  and  it  continued 
so  to  be  held  till  1797. 


'75 
THE   BLUE-PETER. 

On  our  return  from  Philadelphia  we  spent  a  few  more  days 
in   New  York,  preparatory  to  embarking   on   the  good  ship 
Campania  for  the  voyage  home.     Endearing  as  that  word  is, 
and  full  as  it  is  of  rest  and  repose  to  weary  back-aching  travel- 
lers, we  never  turned  our  faces  homewards  with  more  reluctant 
hearts  than  we  did  on  the  morning  of  Saturday,  the  23rd  of 
November.     The  day  was  beautiful  as  we  steamed  out  of  the 
harbour,  and  New  York  looked  very  bright  and  radiant.     As 
we  slowly  went  down  the  river  we  passed  a  railway  ferry  boat, 
and  to  our  great  pleasure  saw  two  of  our  friends  on  board 
who  had  dined  with  us  on  the  previous  Thursday.     We  thus 
had  an   opportunity  of  waving  to  them  a  final  farewell.     One 
of  the  two  was  the  "  little  English  belle"  we  have  previously 
referred  to.     At  Sandy  Hook  we  passed  the  noble  liner  St. 
Paul  inward  bound.     At  night  we  were  well  out  to  sea,  and 
with  every  prospect  of  a  pleasant  voyage.     On  Monday  night 
the  wind  got  up,  and  Tuesday  a  strong  N.W.  wind  was  blow- 
ing,   and  consequently    we   had    a   heavy    beam-sea  on,  the 
"  Campania  "  did  her  fair  share  of  rolling,  but  then  it  was  such 
a  slow  majestic  roll  that  it  was  almost  pleasant  than  otherwise, 
it  took  her  about  five  seconds  to  make  each  roll.    The  weather 
was  very  bad   throughout  Tuesday  night,  and  no  sleep  was  to 
be  obtained  all  the  night  long.     Even  our  steward  told  us  he 
had  not  been  able  to  sleep  on  account  of  the  rolling ;  it  was 
said  that   she  rolled  more  on  this  voyage  than  she  had  ever 
done  before.     We  can  only  say  that  if  that  was  her  worst  there 
was  not  much  to  fear,  for  we  have  suffered  ten  times  more 
discomfort  from  rolling  ;  as  it  was,  neither  of  us  was  in  the 


I76 

slightest  degree  indisposed  through  it.  Wednesday,  the 
weather  was  still  bad,  but  had  somewhat  abated,  for  three  days 
the  "  fiddles "  were  on  the  table,  and  more  than  once  when 
she  gave  an  extra  graceful  lurch  the  bottles  and  decanters 
went  flying,  and  the  soup  overflowed  its  barriers,  but  this  was 
very  exceptional.  On  Friday  we  sighted  land,  (long  and 
eagerly  expected)  and  at  10  a.m.  we  were  off  Queenstown 
Harbour,  but  the  sea  was  running  too  high  to  permit  of  our 
entering  or  discharging  mails.  We  managed  however  to 
change  pilots  ;  the  weather  was  so  bad  on  the  previous  outward 
voyage  that  the  pilot  had  to  be  take  on  to  New  York.  We 
also  received  our  letters  on  board,  off  Queenstown.  About  2 
o'clock  we  passed  an  American  liner,  which  we  were  told  had 
left  New  York  on  the  Wednesday  previous  to  our  leaving.  Two 
men  said  she  had  letters  of  theirs  on  board,  which  they 
had  written  to  their  wives  to  tell  them  they  were  going  to  sail 
on  the  Saturday,  and  asking  that  letters  might  be  sent  to  them 
to  be  received  at  Queenstown  on  their  arrival.  Thus  the 
speed  of  the  "  Campania  "  caused  them  some  little  disappoint- 
ment in  one  respect,  but  on  the  other  hand,  enabled  them  to 
reach  home  before  their  respective  letters  would  arrive.  It  was 
still  rough  coming  up  the  Irish  Channel,  nearly  as  bad  as 
out  at  sea.  At  10  o'clock  p.m.  we  were  safely  landed  at 
Liverpool.  We  did  the  homeward  passage  in  precisely  the 
same  time — six  days  and  seven  hours — as  the  outward  passage, 
but  there  was  this  difference,  we  came  back  on  the  summer 
course,  which  is  about  100  miles  shorter  than  the  winter  one, 
and  equivalent  in  time  to -about  five  hours  ;  in  other  words  if 
it  had  been  fine  weather  we  might  have  been  in  Liverpool 
5  hours  earlier  than  we  were.  Our  feelings  entirely  agreed 


177 

with  the  lady  who  on  landing  said,  "  I  am  very  thankful  to  put 
my  feet  once  more  on  terra  cotta" 

On  the  morrow  we  reached  "  home." 

We  received  so  much  consideration  from  Messrs.  Thos. 
Cook  &  Son  (at  their  New  York  Office)  while  we  were  in 
America,  in  assisting  us  at  our  landing,  in  forwarding  our 
letters,  cashing  cheques,  and  in  many  other  matters,  that  we 
feel  we  should  be  wanting  in  gratitude  if  we  closed  our  little 
work  without  making  some  acknowledgment  of  the  same. 
Whatever  might  happen  we  always  felt  we  had  a  good  business 
friend  to  help  us  in  any  emergency. 

THE  FALL  OF  THE  CURTAIN. — And  now  dear  reader,  if 
you  have  gone  with  us  in  all  our  wanderings  you  must  needs 
be  weary  too,,  and  glad  to  have  reached  your  jotfrney's  end. 
It  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  us  to  relate  our  travels  and  thus 
to  recall  the  many  pleasant  and  wonderful  scenes  we  have 
visited,  and  from  time  to  time  revive  the  pleasant  associations 
often  connected  with  them.  But  our  greatest  pleasure  has 
been  in  endeavouring,  humbly  and  feebly  it  may  be,  to  express 
some  of  the  pleasant  phases  of  American  character.  We  have 
had  nearly  six  months  to  calmly  reflect  upon  the  impressions 
which  we  received,  and  that  reflection  has  only  tended  to 
endear  to  us  the  more  our  "  KITH  AND  KIN  "  on  the  other 
side  of  the  water.  We  trust,  kind  reader,  that  it  may  be  so  with 
you,  and  that  ere  long  you  will  have  realized  as  an  experience, 
that  which  is  now  at  best  a  theory,  and  probably  founded  only 
upon  the  experience  of  another.  Go  and  visit  them  and 
their  magnificent  country!  Go,  not  as  a  stranger,  but  as 
kith  to  kin :  to  those  of  your  own  blood  and  race :  to  a 
people  with  the  same  heart  sympathies,  aspirations,  and  hopes, 


i78 

and  above  all  with  that  same  ineradicable  love  of  Liberty  and 
Freedom  that  dwells  in  the  breast  of  every  free-born  Briton. 
Go  and  see  them  in  their  Homes  and  in  their  home-life,  and 
of  one  thing  we  will  assure  you,  that  there  is  no  place  on  earth 
where  you  will  receive  a  heartier,  a  warmer,  and  a  more  cordial 
WELCOME,  than  from  our  "American  Kith  and  Kin!" 


FINIS. 


